


Rescue from Mount Weather

by fanficclarkefinn (shoie)



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Flarke, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-04
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-07 10:03:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 44,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1894908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shoie/pseuds/fanficclarkefinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A multi-chapter story detailing the rescue of The 100 delinquents from Mount Weather.  Story begins after episode 1x13 of The 100 TV Show</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Run from Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on tumblr

As Finn stared at Clarke from across the camp, he prayed that this would not be the last time he saw her. He'd heard her scream, begging him not to go, but he couldn't stand by while Bellamy fought for his life. It wasn't in his nature to abandon anyone if he could help. 

Looking at Clarke now, he knew that neither himself or Bellamy would be able to make it to the dropship. Clarke would need to close the door without them if they were to save anyone. Finn nodded to Clarke to urge her to go, which would mean that he only had a few moments until the rockets launched. He saw Clarke pause to look around at the death surrounding them, but then stand to go with Miller. He'd known that she would do the right thing. 

A Grounder grabbed him and threw him to the side catching him off guard. He could see the hatred in his attacker's eyes, and would have likely been in a fight for his life, if the dropship door closing hadn't distracted the man. Finn kicked his attacker squarely in his knee causing the man to drop as Finn scrambled to his feet. He ran toward Bellamy, who was still fighting with the Grounder's leader. He pulled at Bellamy's jacket to get his attention and screamed, "We've got to go."

Bellamy looked at him with confusion and then at the dropship. Finn took off running toward the same tunnel where he had entered the camp earlier that evening after retrieving medicine for Raven. He heard footsteps behind him and glanced back to see that Bellamy was fast on his heels. The two men ducked through the tunnel, running as fast as they could. They heard another person enter only a few yards behind them and could only assume that it was one of the Grounders giving chase.

Finn reached the end of the tunnel, running slightly to the right before swinging to face the opening. He saw a large branch laying on the ground and picked it up just as Bellamy cleared the exit. Finn swung the branch back, preparing to hit the Grounder as he exited the tunnel. As if in slow motion, he swung the branch as hard as he could catching the Grounder square in the face, causing the man to fall back onto the ground. The Grounder didn't move. Seconds later another person ran out of the tunnel surprising both Finn and Bellamy. Finn started to swing his weapon back again. 

"Whoo, guys - Its just me." Drew exclaimed when he saw Finn about to hit him holding up his hands.

Finn dropped the branch and yelled at both men to follow him. He took off running towards Lincoln's cave. The three of them were leaping over rocks and roots, hoping to out distance the explosion that they were sure would come any minute. Finn was growing concerned that maybe the rockets weren't going to launch, when an incredible boom echoed throughout the valley followed by a blinding red light and a gust of hot air. The smell of fire and burning flesh infused the environment around them. All three stopped to look back in the direction of the camp. They could see the fire in the trees and smoke was rolling out obscuring all it consumed.

"Come on, we're not out of danger yet." Finn pointed out to Bellamy. Finn hoped they would be safe at Lincoln's cave at least until they could go back to check on the camp.

Seeing the entrance to Lincoln's cave, Finn practically dove through it with Bellamy and Drew on his heels. The three men fell to the ground breathing hard, but perhaps safe for a time. 

Finn heard a sword being drawn and looked up to see Lincoln towered over them. Finn had assumed that Lincoln had taken off after helping with the Reapers. He never guessed that Lincoln would be holed up in the cave. 

Lincoln quickly put the sword away when he recognized Finn, turning back to someone who was laying on some furs on the ground. Finn noticed that it was Octavia and she hadn't stirred upon their arrival. "Is she okay?" 

When Finn asked the question, he saw Bellamy whip his head around to look over at Lincoln. "She's fine. I gave her something to sleep." Lincoln reassured them.

Bellamy got to his feet and went over to Lincoln and Octavia. Lincoln glanced at Bellamy and said, " I got the arrow out, the wound cleaned and stitched. I'm just applying something in case of infection. She'll be fine."

Bellamy slumped against the wall sliding down next to Octavia. Finn saw him wince in pain. "Are you hurt?"

Bellamy grimaced as he used his fingers to probe his side, "My ribs - I think I might have cracked one. I'm pretty sure my legs are tore up from that run, not to mention all the cuts and bruises I have in general. Wish we had our Doctor," he finished in a low voice.

Lincoln slide a bucket of water towards Bellamy along with a couple of containers. "Patch yourself up," was Lincoln's gruff response. Finn tried to hide his smile at the glare Bellamy gave to Lincoln. Finn couldn't help but remember that just the day before Lincoln had told him and Clarke that they were 'too soft'.

Finn pulled himself up from the ground offering, "I'll help bind up your ribs." Looking over at Lincoln he asked, "Do you have any cloth?"

Lincoln procured a rough looking cloth and threw it over to Finn. Finn looked down at Bellamy and could see that he was about to refuse his help. "Look - Clarke would kill me if I didn't help you so this isn't up for discussion."

Bellamy smirked upon hearing Clarke's name, then sighed in resignation. Finn and Bellamy worked to apply some salve to any cuts and then wrapped the cloth around Bellamy's lower chest to keep his ribs bound. They would heal in time. 

"Thanks" Bellamy whispered as Finn dropped to rest beside him. Drew had fallen asleep and the cave got incredibly silent with everyone either resting or lost in their own thoughts. 

Finn jumped when Lincoln inquired, "I heard an explosion, what happened?"

"We rigged an explosion using the rocket launchers on the dropship. If all went as plan, the fire poured out from under the ship burning everything around it." Finn looked apologetically at Lincoln, "If it worked, it is likely that everyone who was attacking us is dead."

Lincoln dropped his head and gave a small nod of acceptance. He stood suddenly and headed to the entrance of the cave. Finn assumed Lincoln wanted to grieve in private. He knew Lincoln was no longer part of the Grounders, but that didn't mean there weren't people he cared about who died this day.

Before Lincoln could leave, Finn said solemnly, "Thanks earlier for your help with the Reapers. It likely gave us enough time to rig the launchers. You've come to my rescue more than a few times lately." 

Lincoln acknowledged his thanks saying, "If it wasn't for you and Octavia, I'm not sure I would have helped."

Finn frowned hearing the truth in Lincoln's words. Finn realized that his people hadn't given Lincoln much proof that they were worth saving. He vowed to change that in the future.

"Are we going to stay here and chat all night or go see what happened to everyone?" Bellamy asked seemingly annoyed at the conversation between Lincoln and Finn. Lincoln didn't reply instead ducking out of the cave.

Finn sighed, "I think we need to wait for the fire to burn out. If we go back too soon, we could just get caught in another mess. Clarke and the others are safe on the dropship and she'll wait until she is sure it is safe to open that door."

Finn could tell that Bellamy didn't agree, but for once Bellamy didn't argue back. Finn reached forward for the cup that was sitting next to the water bucket. He felt very thirsty, but not tired. He knew he should be dropping with exhaustion, but he was worried about Clarke. Tipping the cup up, he gulped down the water which tasted sweet. For a brief moment, his mind flashed to the night he'd shown Clarke the spring in the woods. The water had tasted incredible and he would never forget how beautiful she looked. Her smile, something very rare, held more pleasure then he dared to think about. He hoped there was a chance for more memories in the future.

Finn took another sip of water. Looking around, he saw the journal that had dropped earlier when he had been in the cave with Lincoln. He went over to pick it up and sat down opening the book from the beginning. "You're not seriously going to sit there and read a book while the rest of the group is possibly in danger?"

Finn glared at Bellamy, "Since we can't help them at the moment, I thought that maybe we should take this time to use the resources at hand to learn more about this world. Something that we should have done weeks ago and perhaps we could have avoided this entire disaster."

"Are you blaming me for how we got here? You are still alive today because of the things I did for everyone." Bellamy's eyes lit with fire pointing a finger at Finn, "As a leader, you need to make hard decisions."

"Sometimes the harder decision is to not fight," Finn interjected.

"And sometimes you are not given a choice," Bellamy tossed back.

"I agree," Finn nodded surprising Bellamy, "Sometimes you have to fight as I did to save your ass tonight," Finn retorted back.

Bellamy snarled, "Why did you?" 

"Because we're in this together Bellamy," Finn spat back. Couldn't the man just be grateful. 

The fire seemed to go out of Bellamy as he confessed, "I didn't go out to rescue you."

"You would have," Finn concluded when he saw the regret on Bellamy's face.

Bellamy shook his head sadly, "Not if Raven and Jasper hadn't pushed me."

"I doubt that," Finn stated firmly. "You need to have more faith in yourself," 

Finn and Bellamy stared at each other for a few minutes until Bellamy gestured to Finn, "Fine, you read your book. I'm going to shut my eyes for a bit and then we're going to go get the others." Bellamy rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Finn went back to his book smiling faintly. Maybe they could be friends?

. . .

When Lincoln returned a short while later, he walked straight to Octavia to check on her. When Finn saw him settle down next to her, he asked, "I assume there are more of your kind out there?" Finn remembered hearing Anya refer to a village that had been burnt to the ground. 

"Yes and they will not stop until every one of your people are destroyed. Tristan was one of our top leaders. His death along with Anya will infuriate our leader."

Finn figured as much based on some of the information he'd seen in the journal. "How long?"

"Maybe three days - might be sooner because of the explosion," Lincoln warned.

"That should give us enough time to make it to the Ocean. I only hope these people you told me about are willing to help us still." Finn responded, worry lacing his voice. How fast did news travel in this world?

Lincoln grunted agreeing with Finn's concern. Octavia seemed to shift on the makeshift bed and Lincoln reached out to grab her hand in comfort.

Finn then noticed that Bellamy's eyes were open and he was listening to their conversation. When Bellamy noticed Finn looking at him, Bellamy announced, "Time to go." 

Finn got up and walked over to where Drew was sleeping to shake him awake. He heard Bellamy ask Lincoln, "Will you wait for us to bring everyone back?"

Lincoln nodded his head, "Yes, but if you are not back in a few hours, I'm taking Octavia and heading out."

"Understood," Bellamy acknowledged. 

Bellamy, Finn, and Drew took a few minutes to take stock of possible weapons to defend themselves. Drew still had his gun, but it was out of bullets. "Let's take it anyway," Bellamy responded to the unasked question. Bellamy had a makeshift knife and a radio. Finn, as usual, was unarmed. 

"Finn," Lincoln called as he held out a large knife, "Take this." Finn nodded his head in thanks taking the knife from Lincoln's outstretched hand. He still didn't like weapons, but they didn't know what they might encounter next.

"I hope you don't have to use it," Lincoln whispered to Finn as he passed the knife.

"So do I," Finn responded as he ducked out of the cave behind Bellamy and Drew.


	2. Return to Camp

Finn led the group back to the camp keeping the three of them within the cover of the trees. He was moving slowly hoping to sneak up on anyone or anything that was on the hunt for them. Since they had few weapons, this was their best chance. The trek was slow and the lack of sound made the situation seem more intense. Nothing moved around them, not even the wind.

Finn wished he'd asked Lincoln if there were more Reapers, but since time was critical, he'd agreed with Bellamy that they needed to be on the move. Finn’s mind kept racing over what he discovered in the journal. The person who had written it was intent on survival and Finn hoped it would also help them. This new Earth was nothing like the Earth of old. Nothing like the stories he'd heard as a kid or the movies he'd watched. The beauty all around them even now was marred by the primitive need to survive.

No one spoke, just kept an alert eye open for danger. Soon the trio were close to the camp walls. Finn held up his hand and gestured for both Bellamy and Drew to draw close. "The camp is ahead, but we can't know whether everyone was killed in the fire. I say we split up with the two of you heading around the camp to the right and I'll head left. We check out the entire area and meet at the front gates on the other side."

"And if we spot trouble?" Drew asked.

"Then we keep out of sight. If we can't make it to the front gates, let's try to meet here when the sun is overhead," Finn looked up through the forest canopy at the sun, which was still low in the sky. "That may mean keeping out of sight for several hours," Finn sighed.

Bellamy shook his head in disagreement, "I think we should take the tunnel back in and get people out fast. Your approach might delay us getting out of here."

Finn frowned at Bellamy stating matter of fact, "It might keep us alive if there are Grounders or Reapers around."

Bellamy began to pace in front of them and then agreed, "Okay - we'll do it your way, but I'm not waiting until noon. If you are not at the front gates and it seems clear, I'm going in without you to get everyone out."

Finn threw up his hands knowing that Bellamy would do it his way regardless. Bellamy and Drew headed off to the right while Finn took off to the left once again keeping within the trees. Every step he took was carefully placed as he examined the trees overhead as well as the ground for any tracks. He could smell the charred wood along with the smell of charred flesh. The fence beside him was torn down in places and burnt in other areas. The crackle of remaining fire could occasionally be heard.

It wasn't long until he stumbled upon the spot where the Reapers and Grounders had fought. The smell of their blood and the bloating bodies almost overwhelmed him. Insects were buzzing around the bodies generating a low hum. Finn gagged on the smell, lifting his shirt to cover his nose and mouth. He guessed that by nightfall, larger wildlife would have found its way to the carnage.

He turned slightly away from the camp to walk around the gruesome scene. The gates were not far ahead and Finn felt good that they may be safe. It was then that he heard some voices and an electric engine. He paused crouching down among the bushes trying to pin point where the sounds were coming from. He first looked over at the camp and that was when he noticed some reddish smoke dissipating in the air above the closed in area. Where had that came from, he wondered.

Keeping low, he tried to move closer to the camp wall. He heard movement from inside which seemed to be coming his way. He stilled, lowing himself to the ground. Two men wearing all black and gas masks came walking out of the gate. Besides the guns slung over their shoulders, Finn noticed that they were carrying bodies. Finn looked over in the direction that the men were headed and saw a few more people similarly dressed standing around discussing something. He knew he needed to get closer to find out what was happening. 

The men didn't seem to be trying to hide their presence, which provided Finn with some cover. He was able to follow alongside them in the trees, keeping low and within the cover of the underbrush. As he got closer to the group, he noticed that they had some horses, one of which was hitched to a cart of sorts. There were also two three-wheeled vehicles similar to something he'd seen in a movie long ago. One of these vehicles also had a cart attached to it. The men were laying the bodies in the cart. They were being careful about placing them there, which Finn could only assume meant that his friends were still alive just unconscious. 

His mind raced wondering what happened. He recognized the outfits that the men were wearing as those of the Mountain Men referenced in the journal he'd been reading earlier. If these were the Mountain Men, it seemed that the group had traded one danger for another. Both the writer of the journal and the Grounders feared the Mountain Men. These men obviously had plenty of weapons and a way to incapacitate people. 

Not sure what to do he sat silently cataloging any information about these Mountain Men that might help him later. What supplies did they have, how many of them, how did they act towards each other, anything that could be used. Suddenly, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder. He whipped around reaching for Lincoln's knife that was laying beside him. It was Bellamy. Bellamy crouched low beside him and whispered, "What is going on?"

Finn wasn't sure how Bellamy had ended up behind him, but there was no time to ask. Finn gestured to the men standing off below and to the left of them. "I think those are the Mountain Men that the Grounders have referred to a few times."

Bellamy frowned assessing the situation. Finn was waiting for his response when he noticed Bellamy's eyes go dark in anger. "They are taking our people. We can't let that happen." The leaves rustled as Bellamy shifted to move toward the group below. 

Finn grabbed his arm warning, "We are outnumbered and out gunned. They look like trained fighters even more disciplined than our guard on the Ark."

Finn and Bellamy looked over at the group of men again. The two men Finn had seen earlier were heading back to the camp while two others had just exited through the gate. One of the men headed their way had Clarke slung over his shoulder. Finn felt himself beginning to rise, he couldn't let them take Clarke. A voice screamed in his head to stop. Getting caught would do neither of them any good. He then noticed that Bellamy was having the same reaction. He grabbed Bellamy by the arm pulling him back.

"It's Clarke and Jasper," Bellamy snarled shaking off Finn's hand.

Finn looked back at the man carrying Clarke. He hadn't noticed the other person until now. "I can see that, but rushing out there gets us caught."

"Maybe we can create a distraction and when they go to investigate, the two of us can take the carts and run," Bellamy wondered.

"That might work if our people were conscious, but they are not. These men will just run us down and we're defenseless to stop them." 

Bellamy was not deterred, "Then while they are distracted, we grab a few people that can help us rescue the others and maybe even a weapon or two."

Finn was considering Bellamy's idea as he watched two men exit the gate, carrying more people. Just then, they heard a shout and saw Drew storm out from the bushes running straight at one of the men. 

"Damn," Bellamy cursed. Finn had forgotten about Drew.

They watched in disbelief as one of the men raised his gun and shot Drew in the leg. Drew fell to the ground rolling side to side in obvious agony and screaming. Another man, who was unarmed but in the same black uniform and gas mask, was running toward the group. He was yelling at the solider who continued to point the gun at Drew to stop. He crouched beside Drew raising a cloth to cover Drew's nose and mouth. Drew struggled for another minute and then stilled. 

"What the hell are you doing?" the man yelled at the solider lifting his mask. "We need these kids alive." 

"I was defending myself," was the muffled reply. The two men seemed unfriendly to each other as they stood face to face in a stand-off. The unarmed one was much shorter than the rest of the men and clearly not a soldier.

"I thought your men checked the woods." 

The solider that had shot Drew responded. "We did."

"Then we need to check them again, but we need to do it fast. We have to be on the road in ten." The solider gestured back to three other men standing at the vehicles. The men jogged up to the group and then spread out to check around the outside of the camp. The rest of the soldiers either went back into the camp or took the people they were carrying to the carts. The shorter non-military man returned to Drew and used some kind of cloth to wrap the wound. He then picked Drew up and headed back to the carts as well.

Finn and Bellamy didn't move a muscle during the entire exchange. It was clear that they were dealing with people that would take swift action if someone interfered with their mission.

They saw the soldiers systematically checking the fence line and nearby area. Since Finn and Bellamy were further away from the wall, they hoped they were out of the possible search area and wouldn't be found. They kept low in the bushes, quietly covering themselves with nearby branches and leaves. It would have to do as a hiding spot for now.

Finn watched silently as the men trouped back and forth with loads of their people. The group of soldiers reported back that they didn't see anyone else. Before too long, the men began getting on the horses or one of the vehicles preparing to leave. Finn heard a shout from the camp as two men walked out followed by a third. The first man was carrying Raven and the other Anya. The third man had called an “all clear” to the group. The men placed the last two people in the cart and they all headed out. 

Finn and Bellamy lay there for what seemed hours, but it was only minutes. "Come on, let's go after them," Bellamy scrambled to his feet and started to slide down the bank. Rocks and other debris fell around him. 

"No, they will be easy to track. We need to get supplies and talk to Lincoln, then we'll head out," Finn declared.

"Why is it always wait with you?" Bellamy retorted.

Finn glanced over at him, but didn't respond. Instead, he jogged off toward the gates of the camp. The pure destruction inside was startling. The burned skeletons, grayish ash, and charred walls was all that was left. This had been their home for almost thirty days and now it was a mass grave. A small amount of smoke still lingered making Finn cough. He again used his shirt to cover his nose and mouth. 

Nothing moved in the camp as a sense of despair began to creep upon Finn. He had to push it away if he was going to find a way to rescue everyone. He only hoped that some supplies had made it inside the dropship. He ran up the ramp pushing aside the makeshift door which now beckoned like a ghost as it waved ever so slowly. 

Finn smiled in relief when he saw that most of their supplies remained. Now to look through them and find what would be needed. He started going through the various packs and crates, tossing items towards the door. He heard footsteps on the ramp and hoped it was Bellamy. Finn certainly wanted Bellamy’s partnership in this, but he was tired of arguing every point. The sheet was pushed aside and Bellamy stood there peering in. 

Finn didn't say anything just went back to gathering supplies. Bellamy starting searching on the other side. Within a short period of time, they had found some radios, food, knives, water, bullets, and guns. Finn also threw some blankets and fire making items on the pile. The last pack he picked up was Clarke's. He paused beside it feeling a moment of guilt. He would be invading her privacy by looking inside, but she may have something that would help them. He opened the pack and was greeted with medical instruments and several containers, one which looked like Monty’s moonshine. He definitely needed to take these items. He gently pushed the contents around looking for other items of use, smiling when he saw the pencil he had given her. He tilted the pack to the side and noticed something metal towards the bottom. He reached for the item and pulled it up. It was the deer he’d made for her. He sat there staring at the trinket. His heart sang as hope rose within him. She’d kept it and she’d planned to take it with her. He tucked the deer back into a shirt that was also there and closed up the pack. It was small and he’d take it with them. 

“I think we have everything we need, but the map,” Bellamy called out. Finn looked over to see Bellamy packing the items up in an empty bag.

“I think the map is on the second level,” Finn responded jumping up and going over to the stairs. He climbed up finding the map in no time and returning to where Bellamy was waiting. Bellamy had gotten all the supplies into two packs and was inspecting one of the guns.

Finn put the map in Clarke’s pack and grabbed one of the bags. “Let’s go talk to Lincoln.” Bellamy nodded and the two took off following the same path they ran the night before.


	3. Mountain Men Revealed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I developed a new character for this chapter - Unknown Nurse

Finn and Bellamy made good time getting back to Lincoln’s cave. Neither of them had said anything on the way back knowing that time was of the essence. Lincoln was standing out front tying a few things to a makeshift saddle. He paused looking over at Finn and Bellamy as they jogged up to him. 

"Is Octavia awake?" Bellamy asked out of breath.

"Yes," Lincoln responded nodding his head in the direction of the cave. Bellamy took off to talk with her while Finn stopped next to Lincoln. 

Finn leaned over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He reached into his pack to grab a canteen of water when Lincoln questioned, "Where is everyone?" 

Finn took a drink of water before saying, “They were taken by the Mountain Men just as we got to them.”

"Mountain Men?" Lincoln grabbed Finn’s shoulder, "Are you sure?" 

"I’m guessing it was them. There were about 15 men dressed in black military style uniforms. They must have used some chemical to knock everyone out. They were loading them into carts when we got there, but we stayed hidden." Finn took another gulp of water looking off into the distance. A flash of Drew being shot rose up before him before he could stop it. “They shot Drew,” Finn blurted out.

Lincoln reached back to his horse drawing his sword. Fear clouded his eyes as he looked off at where Finn and Bellamy had just been. Seeing Lincoln’s reaction, Finn tried reassuring him, “We weren't followed. We made sure that they headed off before returning here.”

"Trust me, you wouldn’t know if you were followed." Lincoln’s eyes continued to dart around, "We need to go."

"You’ll come with us?" Finn was a little surprised that Lincoln was going to help them again, but thankful as well.

Lincoln looked over at Finn, his brow furrowed, “With you?”

"To rescue everyone," Finn clarified unsure about Lincoln’s confusion.

"We’re not going anywhere near where the Mountain Men took your people," Lincoln declared heading to the cave’s entrance. 

Finn followed him saying, “We’re not leaving them behind.”

“I am,” Lincoln admitted. Finn followed Lincoln through the cave’s entrance seeing Bellamy speaking to Octavia. The siblings turned to look at them as they entered. "We have got to go now," Lincoln commanded.

Octavia looked startled, but seeing the serious look on Lincoln’s face as he walked up to her, she didn’t argue, just reached for his hand to pull herself up. Octavia winced as she put some weight on her injured leg. Seeing her distress, Lincoln wrapped his arm around her back supporting her as he began to walk her forward. 

"What is going on?" Bellamy questioned not liking how Lincoln was dragging his sister away. 

Finn stopped next to Bellamy saying, “I told Lincoln about the Mountain Men taking everyone. He doesn’t think we can rescue them. He doesn't think we should even try.”

“We have to,” Bellamy confirmed looking over at Lincoln and Octavia walking away from them.

"Your people are dead," Lincoln responded harshly over his shoulder. Octavia gasped and looked back at Bellamy. Finn heard her whisper, “Bell?”

"No, they took them alive,” Finn replied to Octavia’s whisper seeing her worried expression.

Lincoln frowned, "Perhaps, but not for long."

Finn stepped forward to grab Lincoln’s arm when he turned to continue to rush Octavia out to the clearing. ”Lincoln, please? We need to know what is going on?” Finn implored.

Lincoln glanced down at Finn’s hand on his arm prompting Finn to do the same. Lincoln’s sword swung between them causing Finn to step back. Lincoln took a deep breath saying, "Those men are evil. Don’t you get that? They took your people; shot your friend."

“We’ve confronted evil before,” Bellamy insisted. “We’ll find a way.”

Lincoln released Octavia and walked over to both Finn and Bellamy. He leaned down to glare in their faces, “This is not that kind of evil.”

Finn shot back, “Tristan… Anya… The Reapers… They aren’t evil?”

Lincoln snarled, “Tristan and the Reapers – That kind of evil is easy to see. You know to run from it. But the Mountain Men – They are the kind of evil that smiles at you in friendship as they slice your gut.”

The three men stood there staring at each other. Finn could hear his heart thundering in his chest as he contemplated what they were up against. Lincoln turned away walking over to the journal laying on a shelf. Finn watched him put the sword down to flip through the journal looking for something. When he found what he was looking for, he handed it to Finn.

Finn hadn’t gotten to this part of the journal yet when he examined it earlier that day. This part of the book was more disjointed. It was full of images and scrawled words here and there on the pages. There were drawings of men in uniforms with guns and gas masks like he’d seen earlier. In some cases, the men were standing in a cloud of smoke over Grounders who seemed dead. He turned each page slowly seeing images of what he guessed was Mount Weather, a map depicting the area, and even some drawings of what looked like possible ways into the facility.

"Look,” Finn responded excitedly holding out the book to Bellamy. “There might be a way into the facility through one of these shafts." If they could find these shafts, they might be able to sneak in, he thought.

"No Finn, keep looking," Lincoln instructed.

Finn flipped through the next few pages as Bellamy crowded up behind him. These images were more confusing. A hall with many doors, drawings that appeared to be from outside a door looking in at people lying in hospital beds, and still other images of doctors examining people. ”Looks like Mount Weather is a medical facility,” Finn stated puzzled.

Lincoln reached over and flipped two more pages over. These images were of girls or women in medical rooms some of whom were pregnant. As he looked more carefully, he saw that the women were actually Grounders similar to those in the earlier drawings. Had the Mountain Men kidnapped these women? Finn squinted at the handwriting in the lower corner, it said For human survival??

"What is this?" Finn asked looking up at Lincoln. "Did they kidnapped your people? Were they experimenting on them?"

Bellamy grabbed the book out of Finn’s hands to inspect further. Lincoln nodded his head “Yes, but we are not sure why. No one who was taken has ever returned alive.”

"How many have been taken?" Finn asked. 

Lincoln began to pace in front of them looking rattled. "I don’t know. It’s been happening for as long as I can remember." Lincoln stopped, staring at the ground, "They are the boogie man your mother warned you about."

Octavia stepped up to Lincoln and wrapped her arms around him. She had moved closer to them while Finn and Bellamy were looking at the journal. This seemed to shake Lincoln from his memories and he shifted her so he could gently wrap his arm again behind her back to help her walk. 

"If they kidnapped our people for some nefarious reason, then we must go after them," Bellamy exclaimed stepping in front of Lincoln and Octavia.

"I won’t go with you. I’ll protect Octavia. I’ll get her to safety, but I’m not taking on the Mountain Men." At that, Lincoln grabbed his sword and pushed past Bellamy headed toward the entrance with Octavia in tow. Finn shoved the journal into Clarke's pack and followed them out with Bellamy. 

"Lincoln, did your people spear Jasper that day when we crossed over into the Mount Weather territory?" Finn questioned unexpectedly. 

"No, we stay far from their lands. It could have been the Reapers,” Lincoln muttered.

"Were they trying to warn us?" Finn pushed.

"Maybe, but I would guess they were using your friend as bait to get the rest of you."

Bellamy looked quizzingly at Finn, “Why are you asking?”

Finn responded, “Just trying to figure out if we might have a friend out there.”

Bellamy snorted, “If you think something who throws a spear at you and tries to kill you is a friend, we need to have a little lesson on friendship.” Finn glared at Bellamy who smirked. Bellamy’s comment seemed to ease some tension in the group.

As they stopped before Lincoln’s horse, Octavia pulled away. "Bellamy, I want to come with you.”

Bellamy took her by the shoulders saying, "No, it is better to go with Lincoln. You are hurt and we need to travel fast."

"But you need me," Octavia’s large eyes implored him.

Bellamy smiled down at her, "Yes, I need you to be safe."

"I saved your life last night. You might need me to save you again," she pleaded. 

"You’ll have plenty of chances to save me in the future,” Bellamy promised wrapping her in his embrace. They stood that way for a few minutes until Bellamy joked, “Didn’t we have this same conversation last night?”

Octavia cracked a smile and hugged him tighter. She then pulled away and turned toward Lincoln who lifted her up onto his horse and then swung up behind her. 

"You promised to take good care of my sister," Bellamy reminded Lincoln. Lincoln nodded once acknowledging that he would.

Octavia looked down at both Bellamy and Finn saying, "Finn, watch my brother’s back." Finn patted her leg in reassurance. 

Finn and Bellamy watched Lincoln ride off. They then headed out to Mount Weather.

… 

Clarke sat on the bed and stared at the whitest wall she had ever seen. The room was shockingly bright, a big change from the gray world she’d been used to. She had stood by the door trying to talk to Monty for the past hour until there was nothing left to say. 

Monty had indicated that he had seen other people taken into rooms, but he wasn’t sure who they were. He hadn’t even know she was the one in her room until she’d appeared at the door. Monty guessed he’d been there three days which meant Clarke had been there one. Monty seemed nervous, but she wasn’t sure why.

Clarke hoped that everyone else was okay, particularly Raven. After the dropship door had closed and they had fired the rocket launchers, Clarke had went to work on saving Raven. She had Raven moved to one of the tables and gotten her medical instruments. Harper had assisted her, but wasn’t nearly the assistant that Finn was. Why hadn’t she noticed how Finn had always been there when she needed someone to encourage her? Someone to believe in her when she didn’t believe in herself. “No,” she said out loud. She couldn’t think about Finn or Bellamy right now. She would have to live with what she’d done for the rest of her life, closing the dropship door with them outside. It had been the right decision, but that didn’t make it less painful. 

Thinking back to the surgery, she could hardly believe that she’d been able to retrieve the bullet lodged in Raven’s side. Several times she had wanted to give up, sit down, and cry, but then she reminded herself that she needed Raven now more than ever. Needing Raven is what keep her searching for the bullet until she had gotten it out. She’d even managed to repair some of Raven’s internal injuries, in part thanks to what she had learned from her Mom when she had to save Finn. After repairing what she could, she then seared the wound again, causing Raven to call out. Clarke finished off by administering more coagulant and praying it would be enough. Was it, she wondered now?

The door opened then and a woman dressed in all white wearing a mask walked in with a tray of medical instruments. The nurse sounded sweet and quite a bit older saying, “Well hello! Good to see you awake,” the nurse made a tisking sound, “Although you shouldn’t be up.” She then shrugged, “No matter, I just need a blood sample to run a few tests.”

Clarke had jumped when the nurse had entered the room and sat there staring at the woman. The nurse’s words settled upon her as she tried to process them. All she had heard was ‘need a blood sample’. Clarke asked, “For what?" 

"To assess your health, dear." the nurse replied.

Clarke didn’t care about her health. She felt fine. In fact, she felt better than she had in days especially since she’d gotten sleep and what looked like a bath. "I want some answers," Clarke demanded standing up to confront her.

The nurse walked over to a rolling table pushed against the wall and placed her tray on it. "Soon - when your well," she replied pushing the table over to where Clarke stood next to the bed. 

Clarke held her hand out to stop the woman saying, "I’m fine. I need to know if the other people I was with are okay," Clarke pushed.

“You’ll get your answers later,” the nurse responded, but this time her voice was a little strained. 

Clarke shoved the table to the side away from them, “No – I want the answers now.”

This time the nurse didn’t respond instead she stepped over to the table pulling it back. She began righting the medical instruments on the tray. The metal clicked together sounding loud in the sterile room. The tension grew and Clarke stepped away from her. 

The nurse didn’t react, just continued to exam the items on the tray. “I want answers,” Clarke whispered.

The woman stopped her movements, yet continued to stare down at the tray. Clarke felt the nurse’s anger even though the nurse didn’t move. The voice that now spoke was harsh, "Do you want me to have someone hold you down," the nurse glanced over at Clarke, “Dear?” 

The nurse’s eyes were piercing gray and hard above the mask. Clarke felt herself shake her head no. She looked past the nurse and could see Monty peering at her out his window. He seemed to be pleading with her to just do as the nurse asked.

“I didn’t think so,” the nurse concluded. “Sit down.”

Clarke returned to the bed and sat down. The woman began to hum as she drew first one vial of blood and then another. A knock was made at the door. The nurse marked the tubes and then picked up the tray.

She walked to the door and opened it. Clarke could see a man standing there also all in white with trays of food. He handed the nurse one. She brought it over to Clarke and sat it before her. ”You must be hungry.” She patted Clarke’s arm and left the room.


	4. The Trail to Mount Weather

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has brief sexual content at beginning. I developed new characters for this chapter - Dr Ackermann, unknown nurse, unknown orderly, and unknown person.

This moment, sitting under the stars watching the night sky, was one of the most perfect moments of Finn’s life. The night air was cool, but without a breeze. The stars in the sky sparkled above and the beauty of the Earth lay before him, but he couldn’t pull his eyes away from her. Her long graceful neck was bared begging for his lips to explore. A smile crept about her lips and the wild smell of her engulfed him completely. Her long blonde tresses brushed against his face and her shoulder as they whispered together.

They laughed over some comment and he leaned over to press his lips gently to the slope of her neck. Her skin was warm and smooth and she turned her head slightly into his gentle caress. He took that as an invitation to taste more. His lips followed a trail up the column of her throat brushing ever so softly, bringing little purrs of pleasure from her. He could feel her pulse racing as his used his tongue to tease at her skin. The sounds she was making set him on fire and he leaned further forward to press her down. She didn’t resist, laying back with a smile on the soft ground releasing the blanket that she had used to cover her nakedness. As she laid before him, kissed by the moon and her hair fanned out like a halo around her head, he pulled back to see her fully. Her skin was creamy white and seemed to glow like the blue lights on their first night on Earth. Her eyes sparked in invitation. He wanted to consume every inch of her and rose to cover … 

"Hey, are you daydreaming and letting the food burn?" Bellamy exclaimed as he punched Finn on the shoulder and took a seat next to him.

Finn pulled from the memory shifted uncomfortably, and then looked over at the squirrel roasting on the fire before them. The fire crackled as some of the juices from the meat dripped onto the wood and ash below. As Bellamy pointed out, the squirrel was getting a bit scorched so Finn jumped to grab it off the flames. “Shit!” he responded slightly burning himself.

He heard Bellamy chuckle, “I think you are reading that book too much.”

Finn felt a slight twinge of guilt as the book had been the farthest thing from his mind at that moment. He hadn't meant to think about her. He'd been staring at the fire and then flashed to the memory of them eating the panther that first time. Sitting in that clearing with her had morphed into the memory of them in another clearing and he'd been lost. In fact, parts of his body were still remembering Clarke bare in the moonlight. Trying to shake off the memory, he busied himself with separating the food to give some to Bellamy. He had agreed to cook while Bellamy had went to refill the canteens.

The day had been pretty uneventful after they watched Lincoln and Octavia take off. They had returned to the camp and easily found the tracks just as he had expected. What was unexpected was that not too far away from their camp was a trail of some kind which the Mountain Men had used. It wasn’t completely overgrown and in some places, Finn even noticed that the surface was hardened with a black substance. 

Finn and Bellamy had keep a good pace throughout the day, but they never saw the group of Mountain Men who they were tracking. Luckily, they had not encountered any Grounders or Reapers either. They had decided to stop for the night when they had lucked into catching the squirrel they were about to enjoy. Both of them had wanted to go on, but hunger gnawed at them and with no moon, they couldn’t see any longer. They would continue ahead at first light.

Finn was able to separate the squirrel in half and handed part of it speared to a stick to Bellamy. It smoked a little, but the meat was tender. 

"So the book,” Bellamy asked between bites of food, “Anything new?"

"Not much.” Finn played with his food before saying, “From what I can tell, Mount Weather was an operations center composed of a series of buildings. I’m not sure how many still stand. The journal mainly has notes and drawings of a High Security Bunker that is there. The bunker is built into the mountain I think and may have two other possible entrances." Finn reached for the journal at his feet. He flipped to some pages toward the back. "The person who made these sketches indicated some landmarks we could use to find these entrances, but it is going to take some time to track it down."

"Time we don’t have," Bellamy lamented. “We need to start thinking about Plan B and C.” 

They both sat there and ate in silence for a time staring at the flames dancing before them. At some point Bellamy threw Finn a canteen of water and Finn drew out some of the dried fruit they had taken from the dropship. Images from earlier that day flashed before Finn as he wondered if he could had done something different. 

Finn cleared his throat and asked, “I’ve been wondering how you ended up behind me earlier today. You were supposed to be coming around the other side.”

Bellamy glanced over at Finn and then back at the fire, “Well - I didn’t like your plan and changed it.”

Finn raised his eyebrow in question.

"I sent Drew to go around the other side while I back tracked to go use the tunnel. I figured I’d meet you inside and then we’d get everyone out."

"But then how did you end up down by the gate? How did you find me?"

Bellamy looked down at his food pulling off a bone and throwing it in the fire. "As I was about to go in the tunnel, I heard something from the direction that you were headed. I thought you might be in trouble, so I went to see what was going on. I jogged over to catch up with you and then saw you drop to the ground. I was too far away to really hear or see anything, but if you were hiding, I figured I needed to as well. You then got up and moved away from the gate, so I just made a beeline toward you."

"And if you'd stuck to the plan, perhaps Drew would be with us now," Finn mumbled.

"Or you could be alone," Bellamy retorted.

Finn stared into the fire. He supposed that Bellamy was right. “'Why didn’t you follow the Mountain Men after they left?” He then looked directly at Bellamy continuing, “After all, my decisions are never any good?”

Bellamy sighed and turned toward Finn, “Look - You and I don’t see eye to eye on most things.”

Finn snorted and reached for a canteen of water. His mouth had gone dry during this conversation as he wondered how they would every make it through this ordeal if it was just the two of them. 

"But I do listen and evaluate your plans. If they have a chance of succeeding, I’m going to try them. Your plan to get supplies and even that stupid book seemed like our best bet."

Finn was a bit surprised that Bellamy had admitted to thinking anything he had to say was valid. Even so, trust was earned and they both had a long way to go to get to that stage. They sat there in silence finishing off the food for the next several minutes. Finn then stood, “I’m going to go scout around a bit. I’ll take first watch.”

For a second, Finn thought Bellamy was going to say something, but only silence remained as he headed into the darkness. 

… .

Clarke had slept fitfully that night. At some point, the lights in all the rooms went out. Clarke assumed that meant they were supposed to sleep. She had tried, but her confrontation with the nurse still pulled at her. She should have handled it differently. There had been medical instruments on that tray. She could have used them as she had before to get away. She should have tried. The nurse likely also had a way to get into the other rooms. How many people could she have released before someone came to stop them?

The lights flipped on and she heard the whirl of a fan also kick on. "Morning time," she whispered. Although there wasn't a thing to do, she decided to get up and rolled over swinging her legs out of bed. She walked over to a sink against the wall and turned the handles on the faucet. Clean water ran out and a few seconds later it was warm. This simple pleasure would have been enough to make her smile, if she wasn’t being held prisoner. 

Clarke’s second experience being held prisoner was enough to convince her that any home she had in the future would have to be fully outdoors. She wanted to be able to look up and see either a sky full of sun or stars at any time. Even better if it was spouting rain. 

As she stood there at the mirror, she vowed to herself that today would be the day she would get answers. She had noticed last evening that there was a camera installed in the room. She hadn’t decided yet if she should try to disable it or use it to talk to the people watching her. 

A quick rap at the door was made and then the handle turned. She watched the door slide open and a male orderly walk in. He had a tray of food, which he walked over to the table where her tray was from last night. The food she had eaten last night had been amazing and the smells wafting from the tray he carried in now smelled just as good.

"Is someone going to talk to me today?" Clarke called out to the orderly. "I’ve done nothing wrong. You can’t keep me here."

If he heard her, he didn’t say a word or even glance in her direction. Just picked up the tray from yesterday and left. 

Clarke walked over to the food and inspected it. The plate was wrapped in a silver substance that when Clarke touched it, she guessed it was tin foil. She pulled it off the plate and found a pile of yellow mush with berries on the side. Could the yellow pile be eggs? She’d never had actual eggs before. She consumed the meal, which once again was very good, and then sat there staring at the tray. 

What was she going to do? She had searched her room top to bottom yesterday looking for anything she could use to either defend herself or help her escape. There wasn’t anything, unless she broke the mirror. Looking at her food tray, she wondered if she could use the tin foil to slip in the door and therefore keep it from locking. Would something like that work? She wasn’t sure, but tore off a piece of it concealing it away. The rest she crumpled up so they wouldn’t know she kept part of it. One other item sat on the tray; a small container that said ‘Chocolate Pudding.’ She opened the container and found a thick black substance inside. Could she use this to cover the camera lens? If she covered the lens, they would surely send someone to fix it, and she could force a confrontation. Did she want to do that? Did she have a choice?

Resolved Clarke stood up and walked over to the camera in the corner. ”I want to talk to someone in charge right now,” she screamed into the camera. The room remained silent and the green light on the camera continued to blink. ”Do you hear me? Send someone down here now.” A few minutes passed and nothing. The green blinking light seemed to mock her. Well, what had she expected? A voice to talk to her. Someone to reassure her that everyone else was okay. Answers to why the hell she was here.

…

The moment the sun lit the sky, Bellamy was shaking Finn awake. Finn had spent several hours either up in a tree or scouting around their little campsite. Nothing moved in the vicinity which Finn took as a good sign. When he felt himself dozing off, he went and woke Bellamy. The two switched watch without a word.

Now with the sun peaking up, Finn folded the blanket he had used and packed it away. Everything else he had secured the night before. He pulled on the two packs he had and nodded to Bellamy that he was ready. 

A few hours later, Finn noticed a new set of tracks. He wouldn’t have found them except, they had stopped for a few minutes to rest and he’d needed to relieve himself. Next to the tree he picked, there were two footprints where someone had stood for a time. He turned the way the prints faced and realized that the spot actually looked down on the trail they were following. Was someone else following the Mountain Men? He headed back to Bellamy, but didn’t share what he had seen.

…

Clarke was startled awake. Surprised that she had fallen asleep, she sat up to see what had awoken her. Sitting in a chair across the room was a man with graying hair, olive skin, and dressed in a lab coat. He was holding a computer tablet and seemed to be reading something. Seeing him there in the privacy of her room, made her scurry back against the frame of the bed. The springs creaked with each of her movements and he looked up. 

They stared at each other for several minutes. ”You wanted to speak with someone?” he asked in the silence. “I’m here.”

Clarke’s voice cracked as she responded, “Who are you?”

"I’m Doctor Ackermann. I’m in charge of this part of the facility."

"The Mount Weather Quarantine Ward?" Clarke queried.

"Yes - I guess you saw the sign," he gestured to the door.

"Why are we in quarantine? Are my people okay?" Clarke’s hands fisted in the bed sheets as she attempted to keep them from shaking. She didn’t know if she was more scared or angry. 

"Any person whose spent time outside this facility needs to be in quarantine. The world is not a safe place; it is full of disease and other dangers. I don’t need to tell you that, do I?" Dr Ackermann caught her eye.

"And my people?"

"Who in particular are you worried about Ms Griffin?" Dr Ackermann asked pressing some key on the device before him.

"How do you know my name?" Clarke whispered jolted off her line of questioning.

Dr Ackermann smiled as he looked up at her, “I know a lot about all of you.” He looked down at the tablet seeming to search for something. ”You are Clarke Griffin, daughter of Jake and Abby Griffin. Your father was sentenced to death for treason and you were sent to prison. That is why you are down here. The Ark is dying and the only chance anyone has is on Earth. You and your group are the guinea pigs.”

Clarke stared at him deciding not to acknowledge the information he shared. He went on, “You are in very good health and seem to have no ill effects from being on the earth for the last 30 days. Your genes are very good and you come from a privileged family.” He nods to himself after his last statement and Clarke frowns. Her genes are good? What does that mean?

Clarke’s voice is hard as she demands, "I’m asking again, are my people okay?"

Dr Ackermann chuckles, "Ms. Griffin, you are a stubborn girl. Yes, your people are recovering, all 70 of them. Thanks to my men."

Clarke feels the anger now welling inside her, "Thanks to your men? They gassed us and brought us here against our will." 

Dr Ackermann waves his hand dismissively saying, "We weren’t sure if you were contaminated. We had to do it to protect ourselves, but we wanted to rescue you as well."

His response rings false in Clarke’s ears. If he cared, there were other ways to approach the group rather than with guns raised. "How do you know about us? Why didn’t you come sooner?"

Dr Ackerman seemed to pause to reflect on her questions. "We’ve been in contact with the Ark for some time. The problem was we could get information from the Ark, but they couldn’t connect to us. We tried to establish contact for years, but with little success."

Clarke continued to stare at Dr Ackermann. He explanation was reasonable, but she still wasn’t buying it. Something in his manner was off putting. “But why didn’t you come for us in the first few days?”

“It is not that easy to rally resources for a rescue. We have an important mission. Every action we take is with this mission in mind,” Dr Ackerman stated with a firm conviction.

“And what is this mission?” Clarke asked feeling that she was finally hearing the truth. 

“To ensure human survival,” Dr Ackermann replied without a beat.


	5. Friend or Foe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I developed new characters for this chapter - Dr Ackermann, Henry, and Henry’s brother.
> 
> I re-edited this chapter on August 14th to clean up the flow and flush out other details.

Finn stood looking at Mount Weather from a nearby hillside. Two crumbling white round buildings peeked through pine trees providing the only other evidence besides the fence that Mount Weather was situated there. Finn and Bellamy had reached the site earlier that day, when the sun was strong overhead, and then spent time scouting around keeping out of sight. Unfortunately, Finn’s usual ability to find hidden bunkers failed him and at dusk they retreated to rest and create a plan of action, which was how they ended up on this hill.

Finn heard the crunch of leaves from behind him and then the sound of a bow string being pulled tight. "You're close enough," came the voice from behind him.

Finn didn’t startle when the man spoke, rather he continued to stand in a relaxed position with his hands held loosely behind him. "Not even," he murmured.

"I'm warning you to turn back. Getting any closer to that place is dangerous." Finn could hear the sincerity in the man's warning, but he wasn’t going to let that deter him. 

"They took something that belonged to us," Finn continued to stare straight ahead at Mount Weather in the distance.

"You won't get it back." 

Finn glanced over his shoulder at the stranger behind him. In the fading light of the day, he could see the man clearly as he was tall, standing over 6 feet and his hair was a wild mane about his head with a rough looking beard. Mud and leaves clung to him everywhere, in particular the coat he wore made of a patchwork of furs. The metal bow he held was out of place with the other rudimentary weapons he had stashed upon him. 

"We're getting them back," Finn ground out as he slowly turned.

"I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you proceed with this fool's errand," the man promised.

"Like you did to our friend," Finn asked.

"Yes, like I did to that boy," the man acknowledged with a nod. "I will not hesitant to hurt you to keep you away from that place."

Finn took a slight step forward and the man pulled the bow string tighter a surprised expression flashing on his face, which is just what Finn wanted.

"Not before I hurt you," Bellamy vowed sliding a knife up to the man's throat from behind, "Drop it."

The man lowered the bow, but didn't drop it. Bellamy tightened his knife, pushing it deeper against the man’s skin evoking a curse from the stranger. The bow dropped with a crunch in the leaves. 

"Clever," the man responded with an admiring grin at Finn, "You lured me in."

Finn smirked, "We were counting on your need to run us off, although I was a bit surprised that you didn't kill us instead."

"I should have," the man muttered. He then gestured to Bellamy, "Can your friend lower his knife?" 

"Bellamy doesn’t listen to me so you would be better off asking him yourself."

"I'm going to kill you for what you did to Jasper," Bellamy hissed in the man's ear. Finn saw a vein in Bellamy's forehead bulge and realized the Bellamy's anger was rising. Although they had suspected this man had speared Jasper, getting this confirmed must have triggered Bellamy’s rage.

"Bellamy,” Finn's eyes bore down on the pair, “We need him."

"I won't help you," the man swore.

Bellamy grinned as he looked over at Finn, "See, we don't need to keep him alive after all." The knife began a slow slide to the left along the man's throat leaving the beginning of a bloody red line in its wake.

The man reached a pleading hand out to Finn, his raised voice stopping Bellamy’s hand, "Wait -- I honestly didn't mean to hurt your friend. Warn you away -- Yes. Scare the shit out of you -- Of course."

Finn shot back, "You hit him straight in the chest. You didn't think that would kill him?"

"I patched him up."

"And put him out as bait," Bellamy snarled. 

The man started to shake his head no until he felt the sharp edge of the knife dig a little deeper. "That was the Reapers. I patched him up and then before I could move him, they came along and took him."

"I don't care," Bellamy hissed.

Finn saw Bellamy's eyes flash with decision in the fading light and knew Bellamy wouldn’t hesitant to kill this man, "Bellamy don't." 

"Listen to your friend," the man begged sweat beginning to run down his brow.

"I would if he were one," Bellamy snapped.

The situation was escalating out of control and Finn needed something to make Bellamy realize the benefit to keeping this man alive. "Is there a way in other than through the front gate?"

"How would I know?" the man spat.

"I have a feeling that you know a lot about that place," Finn crossed his arms and looked hopefully at the man.

“I’m just another person trying to survive.”

“Then where did you get the military uniform you are wearing under your coat?" Finn gestured to the camouflaged fatigues in question. The man stared back stubbornly.

Switching tactics Finn promised, “We'll put down the knife, if you tell us why you keep trying to run everyone away from this place.”

"I don't think that’s a good idea Finn,” Bellamy scowled.

Finn didn't reply, just stared into the man's eyes willing him to work with them. For some reason Finn believed that this man hadn't intentionally hurt Jasper. It had always bothered him that someone had patched Jasper up and then set him out as bait; the two actions didn’t fit.

After several tense minutes, the man pressed his lips together and gave a terse nod, resigned to answering their questions.

Bellamy pulled the knife away reluctantly, cursing Finn under his breath as he grabbed for the case of arrows, knife, and giant spear that the man had on him. The man began to protest, but Bellamy’s growled "Talk" cut him off.

. . . 

Clarke stared at the door as it closed behind Dr. Ackermann with a snap. He'd sat and talked to her for about an hour, but she’d learned very little. She had pressed him for more information on Mount Weather's mission, but every question she asked was met with a deflection. 

It was the conversation at the end that was the most compelling. He wanted her help getting the delinquents to assimilate with their community of about 400. The Mountain Men, as she still thought of them, were the offspring of Military and Government officials that had escaped to Mount Weather when the first bombs fell. 

Dr. Ackermann had explained how the first generation underground had really struggled to survive, but now they had made a life here as close to normal as they could. He felt that their younger group would help strengthen the community even further and provide it with a better chance at survival. 

When she had asked about the Grounders and why they weren’t part of the group, he'd told her that they had tried to bring them into the community once they learned about them, but the Grounders had resisted. It sounded very nice and neat with an explanation for everything; she didn’t believe a word of it.

"And what would we do in this community?” Clarke had inquired.

Dr Ackermann had smiled, "We assess people's talents and place them as they are best suited. Each member has a particular role in our society."

And each little offense had a strict punishment, she thought plastering a fake smile on her face. 

He continued to extol on their “perfect” society they had formed while Clarke assured herself that she wasn’t trading the strict life she had lead on the Ark for this one, especially after tasting freedom. She would play along, but she sure as hell was not staying here. He'd left soon after promising to continue their discussion later.

Clarke lay on her bed staring at the bright white ceiling blocks overhead. In the silence that ensued she heard, “Hello – anyone hear me?” 

“Raven!” she gasped sitting up.

. . .

As Finn stared at the man that sat in front of him, he couldn't believe that Bellamy's plan had worked. Upon arriving at Mount Weather, Finn thought he'd seen a reflection off of something on the hill to their right. He'd already been on alert after seeing the tracks in the forest and now he thought maybe he'd gotten a glimpse of the person following the Mountain Men and now them. 

Once he'd known what to look for, it had been easy to catch sight of the man. At one point, when Bellamy had stopped at a break in the fence line, Finn had crouched beside him and let him know that they were being followed. The two had agreed to act like they weren't aware of his presence, as they thought of a possible way to find out who he was. They hoped he might by an ally, but worried that he might be the person who had speared Jasper. Bellamy had thought that if the man had been the one to spear Jasper, then he might remember Finn and seek him out when Bellamy was out of sight. Also, Finn had been leading the way on most of the trip so it would make sense to either warn him or kill him. Bellamy had been right.

Sitting on a fallen log while Bellamy leaned against a rock directly behind where the man had sat on the ground, Finn asked, "Do you have a name?"

"Henry," the man replied. 

"Were you part of Mount Weather?" Finn questioned.

Henry made a sad smile, "Yes, I was born there. They are my family."

"Then how did you end up out here?" Bellamy asked apparently surprised that someone would leave their family behind.

"I had always been a loyal soldier; never one to question those in charge." Henry looked over at Mount Weather seemingly pulled into a memory with an almost wistful look on his face. "There weren't a lot of us, but we all had our place and I was happy. I had never known anything different."

"Something happened?" Finn prompted followed by a nod from Henry.

"A couple of years ago, I was looking for my brother and went down to the quarantine ward where he was caring for some of the patients. I had never been in that part of the facility before; it seemed cold and lonely," Henry paused with a frown. "As I looked in those rooms, I saw people unlike I'd ever seen before. They were more like animals, all wild and out of control."

Finn glanced at Bellamy, “When I found my brother, I asked him about them. He was mad that I'd come looking for him; Mad that I'd seen these people. I wanted an explanation and pressed him." Henry took a deep breath stammering, "My brother, the doctor who I had admired all my life, confessed to me that he had created these monsters."

Finn looked at him in confusion, “Created them?"

"Yes,” Henry’s eyes filled with sadness, “We had always had a lot of trouble with reproduction. I don't know if it was the nukes or living underground or maybe just bad luck. In the quest to solve this problem, the doctors thought they would go one step further and also improve human beings. My brother was experimenting with reproduction by manipulating genes and these people were his test subjects." 

Henry's voice faltered, "The problem is that the people they created had no conscience. They seemed to only have the most basic animal instincts to survive and even though the doctors could see the consequences of their manipulations, they continued to push their experiments. My brother in particular wanted to create a better solider. After all, the Grounders were growing in numbers and they were ruthless so we needed to be as well." Henry picked up a stick laying on the ground and began to pull it apart nervously.

"What happened next?" Bellamy pushed.

"Those monsters killed my brother; ate him alive."

"God," Finn exclaimed.

"That's when the higher ups got an idea. Turn these monsters loose on the world as it might solve our Grounder problem."

"The Reapers," Bellamy concluded.

Henry grimaced and took a deep breath, "That is not the worse part. The doctor's thought maybe the issue was only using the Grounder’s genes and that's when they decided to mix our DNA with the Grounders." Henry hung his head, "I couldn't stay and watch friends of mine be subjected to experiments."

"Did you let anyone know?" Finn asked.

"Some, but they were comfortable with the idea believing that it might be our only way to survive. They warned me to not speak about it to others."

Finn felt nausea rise in his throat, "You got away. Surely there were others that would have wanted to do the same?"

"I saw a chance and I ran," Henry admitted. "I have regrets, which is why I work to keep people out of their hands."

"Then help us get our friends back,” Finn pleaded.

"Too late," Henry shook his head in sorrow.

"No," Finn denied, "There is a way in and we'll get our people out."

"Even if you got in, there is no way you'll get them out without a fight."

"Then we fight," Bellamy agreed.

"And you'll lose; they are trained soldiers,” Henry looked back at Bellamy. 

"We've fought for our lives and survived," Finn assured him. 

Henry sighed as Finn pulled out a map. On the back, Finn had drawn the general layout of Mount Weather as they had seen it today. "There is a way in. Where is it?" Finn set the map in front of Henry.

Henry looked away in pain, but Finn pressed, “Where is it?”

Reaching out to point to a spot on the crudely drawn map, Henry explained, "There is a ventilation shaft here that you might be able to get in if it is still open."

Bellamy asked, "Could we sneak people out that way?"

"No -- Getting in might be possible, but it will be difficult to get out.”

"Then we use another way out. Is there a side door or another vent that is more assessable?" Finn wondered.

"A side door,” Henry pointed to another spot on the map, “But in order to even get there you would need to get in undetected past dozens of security cameras and guards, free your people from the ward, and get to the top floor."

"That sounds promising," Bellamy muttered sarcastically. 

Finn pondered the map, "Could we pull some of the soldiers out? Maybe create a situation that they need to respond to?"

Henry pursed his lips, a frown appearing between his eyes seeming to think over Finn’s question, "A fire in the area of the generators might make them respond, but I don't think that would help too much."

"Could you set it for us?" Finn asked.

"I said I didn't want to be involved in this."

"Maybe now is your chance to do what you couldn't do back then," Finn challenged.

Henry’s eyes glinted with anger as he looked at Finn. Finn knew he was pushing him and knew that he was asking Henry to betray his people, but they would only succeed with Henry’s help. 

The trio sat quietly waiting for Henry's response. Finn watched Henry struggle with the dilemma until finally, Henry's shoulders fell and he cleared his throat, “Maybe you could --“

The three of them argued about different plans late into the night. At one point, they had eaten a tasteless meal, but no one noticed as they worked through the plan of action. Throughout the planning, Bellamy’s and Henry’s dislike of each other had grown even stronger. Fatigue and worry made tensions rise higher until the point where Finn wasn’t having much success defusing them.

“You’ll stop with your references to my friends,” Henry ground out after Bellamy’s latest snide remark.

“You still call them friends after all you’ve learned?” Bellamy replied surprised.

“Not all of them know what is going on. I was a solider and we had each other’s backs. This demands loyalty.”

“And yet you abandoned them?” Bellamy retorted with a bark.

Henry shot up from the ground pointing a finger at Bellamy shouting, “I’m going to kill you.”

Bellamy countered, “I’m going to kill you first for Jasper.”

They took two steps toward each other when Finn stepped between them using his arms to hold them back. “Stop - We can't get distracted now." 

Bellamy and Henry continued to glare at each other. Finn grabbed both of them to gain their attention, “Tomorrow we execute what we planned tonight and then you two can kill each other.”

Bellamy glared at Finn who smirked.

. . .

Clarke jumped from her bed and raced to the speaker that was by the door. Had that been Raven’s voice that she had heard over the intercom? 

“If you can hear me, go to the intercom and pop it open. . .” Raven spouted off a series of instructions on how others could turn the intercom into a radio. Clarke was desperately trying to follow the instructions, which Raven had repeated a second time, when she heard Jasper say, “Raven, I should have known that you’d find a way to communicate with us.” Clarke heard him laugh.

“I got tired of waiting for you to do something,” she shot back making Clarke smile. 

“Are you okay?” Jasper asked.

“Recovering – I can feel my legs again, but it hurts to breathe.”

Clarke didn’t realize that she had been holding her breath when Jasper asked the question until it came out in a whoosh when she heard Raven's response. Raven was okay; she had done it.

“Clarke patched you up while the Grounders were roasting,” Jasper replied.

“Who’s all here? Do you know? And where is here?” Clarke heard Raven ask.

“Clarke is across from me,” a new voice responded.

“Monty!” Jasper cried out happily. “We’d wondered what happened to you.”

“I guess I wandered too far that night and got picked up,” Monty replied cryptically. 

“So you can see Clarke, any others?” Jasper asked.

Raven announced, “Harper is across from me, but I haven’t seen any others.”

Clarke continued to pluck at the wires, desperate to join them in the conversation. “I didn’t see anyone across from me, but I was able to get a glimpse down the hall and thought I saw Anya,” Jasper added.

Assuming that they had picked up everyone, Clarke wondered, had Anya been part of the ‘70’ Dr. Ackermann had mentioned? How many of them were alive?

The intercom went dead. Clarke assumed the Mountain Men had cut them off as she turned, leaning back against the wall and sliding down to sit on the floor. It had been wonderful hearing all her friends and it had brought a spark of hope to her. Thinking back over the conversation, one thought keep repeating in her mind, The Mountain Men had picked up Monty a day before the Grounder's attack. They were in the area and they hadn't helped.


	6. Into the Ward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter references a One Shot that I wrote a few months ago which detailed Finn's explanation about why he didn't tell Clarke about Raven sooner. My One Shot is here on tumblr (http://fanficclarkefinn.tumblr.com/post/86437029489/after-the-crash).
> 
> Also, I had hoped to complete the rescue in one chapter, but I had quite a bit more to detail so it will run into another one. I promise, the group is almost reunited.
> 
> I developed new characters for this chapter - Henry, Eva, Anna, Dinesh, unknown woman, and unknown orderly
> 
> I re-edited this chapter on August 14th to clean up the flow and flush out other details.

Clarke blinked open her eyes from another restless night of sleep. It was day three of her confinement and the scene was almost identical to the first day she awoke -- Sterile room with bright white ceiling and walls and absolutely nothing to do. And over these three days, she’d spent hours at the window trying to talk to Monty or peering down the hall to get a glimpse of some face that she would recognize.

The silence was deafening and she had looked forward to the daily food visits, even though the orderly never said a word. During the time in between meals, all she could do was think of her many regrets. She should have talked to Wells rather than assumed he was the one that turned in her father. He’d been her best friend yet she had judged him quickly. She should have confronted her mother and seen if she’d had any reasonable explanation for betraying her father. She doubted anything could make it right, but she’d have some explanation perhaps even closure. She should have let Finn explain himself the day Raven arrived. After all his explanation the day after the Exodus crash had been sincere and he’d worked hard to prove himself in the time since. Renewed trust in him may have led to better decisions without dismissing his ideas so quickly. But she’d done none of these things and all of these people were now dead. Regrets were a bitch.

She sat up and walked over to the sink to splash water on her face. She heard the door handle turn and then swing open; it was the orderly with breakfast. She turned around to watch him and noticed another woman enter behind him. She was small with raven hair and kind eyes, which is all Clarke could see of the woman’s face behind the mask, and in her hands she held some clothes. This was new, Clarke thought to herself. 

"These are for you," the woman explained placing them on the bed.

"When do I get out of here?" Clarke asked. 

"Soon," was the woman’s promise as both the orderly and the woman moved to the door and left.

Clarke walked over to the clothes surprised that they were not stark white like the ones she currently wore. The pile included a blue camisole, a darker blue pullover sweater, and a pair of jeans. It was a nice change from the shorts. Underneath the pile, she found some underwear, socks, and a bra. No shoes, which was quite disappointing since that likely meant she was not leaving today. She moved behind the screen to change.

… 

The ventilation shaft was just where Henry said it would be and Finn couldn’t believe that he had walked right past it just the day before. Bellamy and Finn had arrived in the pre-morning light and spent a few minutes trying to get the rusty grate off. It had been stubborn, but with both of them working at it, it had finally turned and they were able to lift it off. 

Carefully, they laid it so that it only partially covered the opening to the shaft therefore making it easier for Bellamy to slide it back into place once Finn went in. Finn grasped the sides of the opening and was about to jump in when Bellamy grabbed him by the shoulder. Finn looked over at him in question.

"Be careful," Bellamy ordered. "Don’t take too many risks. We only have this chance."

Finn nodded and then saw Bellamy stretch out his hand, which he stared at for a few seconds surprised at the offer. He released his grip on the side and took Bellamy’s hand in a firm grasp. It was a strange moment. The two had mostly been adversaries since landing on Earth and here they stood hands clasped. Finn took it for what it was, an offer to repair the divide between them as the last two days had shown them that they could work together and that in time they might be friends. 

Releasing Bellamy's hand, Finn dropped into the shaft and using his hands and feet lowered himself down going slowly to keep the noise to a minimum. He heard the grate above move back into place followed by a whispered “Good Luck”. 

Crab walking his way down the vent was harder than he remembered from his childhood days of crawling through the vents on the Ark to visit friends or pinch rations from someone who had plenty. It wasn’t long until he reached a junction where he could either continue down or move horizontally. Henry had said that the ward was on the third floor which was in the middle of the bunker complex. He’d suggested that Finn enter on the fourth floor as he might be able to find some clothes or other items that would help him get into the rooms in the ward. 

Finn continued to work his way down the vertical vent, which was luckily open all the way. The sweat was running down his face and he could feel the pull on his arms and legs, but he pushed through repeating to himself that this was their only chance. 

When he reached the horizontal shaft that was the second one, he pulled himself into the opening and laid there resting. He was breathing heavily the noise seeming to echo about the enclosure. Henry was right, this was not an escape route. ”Finn,” he heard whispered over the radio. He scrambled to grab it since the echo was loud.

"What," he responded.

"Status?"

Finn rolled his eyes, “I found the shaft that is on the fourth floor and I’m entering it now. The radio is loud in here,” Finn paused, “So I’ll update when I can.”

Thankfully Bellamy didn’t respond back. Finn began to belly crawl down the vent stopping at each grate to see what kind of room it was. As he crawled along, he began to hear voices and the hum of electronic devices from one particular area that also seemed to have a larger grate for ventilation. He carefully moved over to the grate to peer into the room below. 

It was a security center of some kind with a large bank of TV screens, various computers, and good number of people scattered around. He was about to move on when he thought he saw Monty on one of the TV screens. He held his breath as he scanned them to see who else he might recognize. There, next to Monty’s screen, was Clarke. His heart skipped a beat as he watched her pace around the room; she seemed pissed, but no worse for wear. He quickly scanned for Jasper and Raven, but didn’t see them. He then noticed that the screens seemed to rotate around to various rooms and as he waited for them to flash to the next group, so he could again look for Jasper and Raven, he heard two people taking about survivors.

"We’ve seen about 250 to 300 survivors from the one section. The second section wasn’t as lucky, but a few survived. We’re still trying to locate other pieces."

"Good - keep people on it. I want them tracked." Finn was in shock, Were they talking about people from the Ark? 

"Should we pick them up?"

"No, I don’t think they would appreciate us experimenting on their children." Finn shifted trying to get a glimpse of who was talking, but they were standing out of sight.

”We were also able to pick up a signal from one of the sections to the remaining Ark station. Dr Griffin spoke with Chancellor Jaha; seems the Chancellor stayed behind.”

It was the Ark and Clarke’s mom was alive and on Earth. “They landed deep in Grounder territory so they’ll probably be thinned out before we have to worry about them.”

"Good," the voice replied.

If Finn had been shocked by finding out that people from the Ark were on Earth, he was even more shocked hearing the pleased tone that accompanied the "Good" response about any survivors being killed by Grounders. Bile rose in his throat making him more desperate to find everyone and get them out. 

He resumed his search for a room that might have something he could use. He was beginning to despair of finding anything, when he happened upon a janitor supply closet. It would have to do. Using the knife he had, he unscrewed the vent opening and moved it quietly aside, but the sound of metal against metal in the tiny room seemed to echo everywhere. He stopped all movement pausing to see if anyone would come to investigate. When no one arrived, he swung his legs out and lowered himself down. The last few feet he dropped. 

He began going through the room finding a pair of janitor overalls and some other supplies. He would need to locate a janitor cart to help smuggle some items to others and hoped there would be one outside the room. He slipped on the uniform and carefully opened the door. 

Jumping back, he was startled to see a young woman standing there with her hand on the door handle. Her strawberry blonde hair, lightly freckled face, and neatly dressed figure were counter to the growl she made at him as she pushed him into the room and held a knife to his throat. The door clicked behind them. ”Who are you?” she hissed.

"Just a janitor. First day on the job,” Finn stammered out still surprised to have seen the woman standing there.

"I know everyone in this place and you don’t belong. Besides your face and hair are a mess and you smell like you’ve been without a shower for a while." She used her head to gesture to a point beyond her, "You’re with them aren’t you?"

Finn was cursing himself for getting caught, but then he had a thought. She hadn’t called for a guard and she’d pushed him into the room. Why?

"What’s your name," Finn asked.

Her eyes narrowed and just when he thought she wasn't going to respond she said, “Eva.”

"Eva, I don’t think you are going to hurt me."

She pushed the knife deeper into his skin, “Yet, I have a knife at your throat.”

"Yes, you are in control," Finn reassured her, "And you can release me. You can pretend that we never saw each other. I just want to free my friends and then we’ll be on our way; I don’t want anyone to get hurt."

"The people here don’t feel the same way. They wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you." Finn thought it odd that she spoke as if she wasn’t part of them. He thought this was a good sign.

"Well, I work differently," Finn countered.

"Because you are a fool," Eva muttered shaking her head. 

Finn frowned at her. He was neither a fool nor coward and was getting damn tired of all the insinuations. 

Eva stared at him for several minutes with a look of contemplation. Finn wasn't sure what she was thinking, but he maintained eye contact in an effort to reassure her. ”It’s your lucky day. I’ll help you because clearly you need it.”

"I’m not alone and we have a plan," Finn shot back. 

"Then what’s your plan?" she questioned skeptically.

Finn quickly rattled off the plan which she scoffed at, “You have a lot of holes in that plan. I caught you right away and I wasn’t even looking for you although I could smell you from down the hall.”

Finn was really beginning to dislike this woman. “You said you would help. Release me and let’s talk about what you want in return.”

Finn felt the knife loosen and then she stepped away. “You are going to take me out of this place along with my sister.” 

Finn looked at her seeing the resolution in her eyes. Adding two more people to the escape plan shouldn't make it any more difficult. He nodded his head in acceptance of her terms.

Seeing his nod, Eva said, “We can better plan this in my room where someone can’t walk in on us any minute. Of course that means we’ve got to get there, which means walking in front of a lot of cameras.” 

She stashed the knife back in her waistband and looked through the various items in the room. She found a container with some wet rags in it and taking one, reached up to wipe off Finn’s face. He swatted at her hand and grabbed the rag from her. ”I can clean myself up,” he responded to her mothering. He quickly wiped down his face, neck, and arms. 

She reached up to smooth his hair back and he tried to step away from her, but ran into the shelf behind him. She ignored him and reached to straighten his uniform and then said, “Follow behind me with your head down. Don’t follow closely, but walk with purpose. You’re coming to my room to help me clean up an accident.”

“An accident?” Finn questioned. 

“Do the details matter?” she replied with exacerbation. 

“Fine, after you,” Finn gestured with a sweep of his hand.

Eva stepped out into the hall and walked purposely forward seeming intent on getting them quickly to her room. He grabbed the cart parked beside the door and followed at a slower pace. Within a few minutes, she was using a key card to open a door and he pushed the cart inside.

Finn couldn’t help but gape at the room around him -- It was nicely furnished with a kitchen, dining room, living room, and some rooms off to the side. Beautiful paintings hung from the walls and a fan was gently running to keep the air circulating. He even saw fresh fruit on one of the tables.

"My gilded cage," she replied when she saw the look on his face. 

"Why would you want to leave? You have a roof over your head, protection, food," Finn wondered.

"I’d rather have freedom then this cage," she gestured to the material things around her. "I don’t mind the wild . . . the unknown as long as I can make my own choices."

"You could die out there," Finn pointed out thinking of all those that he’d lost.

"I’m already dead in here. I want my sister to have a life worth living even if each day is a struggle. It’s how you know you’re alive."

Finn couldn’t disagree with her. The Ark had been a cage for him as well. 

"I’ve been planning to leave for a while so I have some things that we can use." She went over to one of the paintings and removed it. She pushed on one of the panels and it opened revealing a hidden space where she pulled out key cards, a map, and various papers seeming to detail some plans.”

"This card will get us into one of the rooms where we can get some weapons while this one will open the side door. I’m not sure what to do about the cameras," she finished as she spread the items around the table.

Finn thought for a few minutes and then asked, "Do you have a computer and access to the network?"

Eva looked at him surprised, “Are you a hacker?”

"No, but I know someone who is," Finn replied.

"Your friend at the back door," she concluded.

"No, a friend in one of the rooms."

"But that means we need to get in there before we make the break-out," she responded.

"Any ideas?" Finn questioned with a quirk of his brow.

"One," Eva looked over at a clock on the wall. "It will be lunchtime soon and the orderly that delivers lunch on the ward likes me. I’ll go and talk to him while you pretend to be him and take his cart to your friend’s room. Drop off the computer and get the cart back in 15 minutes, because that is probably all the time I can buy you. Do you have any idea how long it might take your friend to make a footage loop?"

"I’ll tell him that he only has 20 minutes to get it worked out. Our distraction with the fire is supposed to start around noon," Finn admitted.

"Let’s hope he’s good," Eva muttered.

"He is," Finn grinned. "I guess the last piece is getting my other friend inside to help," Finn reminded.

"While you are waiting for the security cameras to go offline, I’ll go get --," she paused looking at him.

"Bellamy Blake," Finn supplied to her unasked question. 

Eva continued, "Bellamy and we’ll pick up the weapons on the way back. You might also want to check the laundry area by the stairwell; you'll need to find your friends' shoes."

Finn explained where Bellamy would be waiting and then the two of them finalized their plans. When they both felt like most of the details had been addressed, Eva got up to pack a bag. A little girl about 7 years old with strawberry blonde pig tails ran out and up to Finn. “Who are you?” she asked wrinkling her nose, “You smell.”

Finn looked up at Eva who covered a smile with her hand, “This is Finn. He’s going to take us on a trip.”

"It’s time to go?" she exclaimed in an excited voice.

Eva walked over and crouched down in front of the little girl, “Yes, but remember this is a secret. You can't speak about this to anyone.”

"Especially Dinesh, right?" the girl replied earnestly repeating a line that her sister must have told her a number of times.

"Yes, especially Dinesh,” Eva confirmed with a nod.

The girl looked over at Finn. ”Dinesh likes my sister, but he’s mean. Dinesh says one day she’ll be his wife.”

Eva looked at Finn embarrassed, but he smiled in understanding. ”What’s your name?” Finn asked the girl to change the topic stepping closer to her and moving down to her level.

"Anna," she replied, "You’re cute even if you smell."

"Thanks Anna," Finn smiled at her tapping her nose.

"Go grab your bag," Eva ordered. The girl skipped off with a hum and then yelled back, "I’m taking my bunny and frog with me Eva."

Eva smiled and followed her sister. Finn stood trying to hide his worry by looking around. Bellamy was going to kill him for agreeing to bring Eva and Anna along, but he needed Eva’s help especially because the plan they worked out might actually succeed. Her sister was young, too young and the world would tear her apart. 

"Stop," Eva told him from around the corner, "I know you are having second thoughts, but it’s too late."

Finn sighed as he guessed it was too late as well. Within moments both Eva and Anna were back with their bags. Finn lifted Anna up and hid her in the janitor cart carefully packing the bags around the girl. ”You’ll keep me safe, right Finn?” she asked him with her big green eyes searing his soul.

It hit Finn in his heart, “With my life,” he promised.

Eva grabbed his arm to gain his attention, “I’ll meet you at the door of the stairwell.”

Finn casually walked out of the room and pushed the cart down the hall and into the stairwell. Once safely in, he pulled Anna out of the cart and asked her to sit on the step. Eva had said that few people used the stairs and the cameras had been removed years ago because kids were always pulling them down. He grabbed for the scrubs and lab jacket that Eva had at her place and put them on placing his own clothes in one of their packs. The scrubs didn’t fit the best, but would do. He then took Anna’s hand, grabbed the bags and computer, and went down a floor to wait by the door. 

Eva’s rap came a few seconds later and then he saw her walking down the hall. ”Anna, I need you to stay here and wait for Eva. Can you watch the bags for us until we get back?”

"Okay, I’ll read a book," she responded rifling through her bag. He couldn’t help but smile; he'd only just met this little girl and yet she brought out some protective instinct in him. He prayed that she would wait here on the stairs for Eva or else she’d ruin their plans.

Finn pushed open the door and hurried down the hall that he’d seen Eva walking down just moments before. He rounded the corner and saw a cart in the hall. As he neared the cart, he heard Eva speaking to someone and assumed it must be the orderly. 

He naturally walked up to the cart, taking the handle and pushing it down the corridor towards the ward. He passed room after room looking for number 302-4. Eva had looked up Monty's room number while they were going over the plan. He stood before Monty’s room and took the key card from the cart holding it up to the door lock until a beep signaled that the door was unlocked.


	7. Out the Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I developed new characters for this chapter - Henry, Eva, Anna, Dinesh, Dr Ackermann, unknown orderly, and unknown guards.
> 
> I re-edited this chapter on August 14th to clean up the flow and flush out other details.

Hearing the beep that signaled the door was unlocked, Finn turned the handle on room 302-4 and walked in. Prior to opening the door, he’d seen Monty laying on the bed staring at the wall. He had hoped Monty would look over at him when he walked in, but Monty just continued to stare at the blank wall in front of him. 

Needing to get Monty’s attention, but not in a way that anyone looking on would suspect anything, Finn looked around for something he could use. That's when he saw the plastic fork on the tray he was carrying. When Finn was directly across from Monty, he knocked it on the floor. Monty barely moved when the fork bounced on the ground, but Finn did see him look over at where it settled. 

Finn carefully crouched down to get it and glanced at Monty. The two of them stared at each other for several seconds until Finn saw recognition enter Monty’s eyes. He raised his finger to his covered lips to indicate quiet, gestured to the tray, and then stood quickly placing the tray on the table and walking out. He had left instructions for Monty on it and the computer underneath. He hoped Monty read them right away.

As Finn went to open the door to leave, he heard Monty stand up and go over to the table where he’d placed the tray. The plan was falling into place.

As the door snapped behind him, he looked directly at 302-5. Clarke was in that room and he desperately wanted to see her. He wanted to reassure her that by tonight everyone would be free, but that could ruin everything by drawing attention to himself. Even though he knew the truth of that in his mind, his heart screamed at him to do something. 

As Finn reached for the cart handle, a possible plan formed in his mind. A way to signal to her, and if any guard was watching, it would also explain why he was leaving the hall instead of going to the next room. He leaned over the cart and began to look around in it as if he was looking for something in particular. In the process of looking he bumped up against Clarke’s door, continued to search around for a few seconds more, and bumped the door again. He hoped that would get her attention and at least bring her to the window. 

Finn then straightened taking the cart handle to turn it around. As he turned, he looked at Clarke’s room one last time and there she stood framed in the door window. It had worked. His eyes drank in the sight of her beautiful face with her hair loose about her head and the cuts she’d had a few days ago now mostly healed. 

He felt himself smile underneath his mask and then his eyes met hers. She looked confused as she looked at him and then she paled as if she’d seen a ghost. He saw her lips move, “Finn?”

He discreetly nodded at her, just as he did the night of the Grounder’s attack. He began to push the cart down the hall maintaining eye contact with her as long as he could. It was one of the hardest things he’d had to do in his life, but he walked quickly back to the room where he had seen Eva with the orderly. Just as he was placing the cart back, he heard the orderly tell Eva that he would see her later that night for a drink. He hurried past the door and down the hall. 

Now to find the laundry room and shoes for everyone. 

…

Bellamy had been standing at the side door leaning against the rock wall for what had seemed like ages. He’d desperately wanted to radio Finn, but Finn had said he’d contact Bellamy when he could. Did that mean things were going badly?

He felt like pacing, but knew he needed to keep out of sight. The door to the building suddenly swung open with a crash as if the person opening it was in a hurry. Bellamy jumped back trying to flatten himself against the wall waiting to see who would exit.

The person that leaned out of the doorway and began looking around was a very beautiful woman. She was tall about Bellamy’s height, strawberry blonde hair that curled just slightly, green eyes that were as bright as the leaves, and creamy white skin. For several seconds Bellamy just gawked at her. 

"Bellamy Blake?" she asked.

"Yes," he croaked out not believing that he was actually tongue tied over a woman. She then threw two bags at him which he caught with a huff as they knocked the air out of him. He looked down at the bags, then at the woman, and then back at the bags. "What’s in them?" he blurted out confused by the entire situation.

"Things for me and my sister. Hide them up on that hill," she indicated the slight slope in front of them, "Then let’s go. Finn is waiting."

Bellamy considered balking at her orders, but it seemed that Finn had sent her. Bellamy looked overhead and noticed that the sun was almost directly above, meaning that Henry would be setting the fire soon. They didn’t have much time. Instead of questioning her order, he ran up the hill and placed the two bags in the deep grass around a large rock. He made sure that no one would be able to see them from the door and then ran back to the entrance to Mount Weather. 

When he cleared the doorway, he heard the door close with a click. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he noticed someone hidden behind the woman. When she saw him look down, she replied, “This is my sister Anna and I’m Eva. I’m going to help you get everyone out of here.”

Bellamy continued to stare at the child clinging to the woman's legs. Surely he had misunderstood as a young child on a rescue mission was a recipe for disaster. Bellamy’s head began to shake no.

"Don’t start," she said before any words could leave his mouth. “Finn promised he’d take us with you and I’m holding both of you to that promise”.

"How can we possibly execute a rescue with a 7 year old child clinging to your legs?" Bellamy scoffed.

"Do you want to rescue your friends or argue in the stairwell and get thrown in here as well?"

Bellamy sputtered, his jaw clenching. He racked his brain for some argument that might dissuade her, but in the end he had none. Finn was going to be responsible for these two not him, he promised himself. And if something happened to that little girl, it would be on Finn’s shoulders. 

"Lead the way," Bellamy conceded. 

The woman took her sister over to a door across from them. She opened it and guided the child inside. It was a small storage closet with coats and other cold weather supplies that they could really use, but he couldn’t dwell on that now. Eva had the girl sit on the floor, “Anna stay here until I get you. Don’t make a sound.” 

Bellamy saw the girl Anna look up at Eva with big eyes, “Finn will come for us, right Eva?”

"That’s right, sweet pea, but for now I need to go with Finn’s friend," Eva kissed Anna’s head.

Anna looked over at Bellamy, “He seems mean,” she whispered.

Bellamy rolled his eyes, “Are we going?”

Eva glared at him, “One second.” Turning back to Anna she reminded the little girl, “He’s Finn’s friend. It will be alright.” 

Anna smiled and Eva closed the door with reluctance. Bellamy saw a flash of concern enter her eyes when the door clicked closed understanding the fear she must have leaving her sister behind. He saw her lean over to pick something up off the floor, she straightened and then handed it to him. It was a lab coat. ”There are cameras everywhere, but the stairwell. This should ensure that attention is not drawn to you.”

"What about you?" Bellamy asked indicating Eva’s current state of dress which did not include a lab coat.

"I’m free to go everywhere," she assured him. 

Bellamy slipped the coat on and looked over at her, “Am I good?”

Eva reached up to slick back his hair. Her hand running through his locks felt unexpectedly nice and their eyes met briefly. She smiled, “You’ll have to do.”

Eva slid past him and started down the stairs, “First stop is weapons.”

Bellamy smiled, maybe Eva and Finn did have a good plan.

… 

Clarke sat nervously on the edge of the bed trying to remain calm, but she was still in disbelief. Earlier, she’d heard a bump against her door and then another. When it hadn’t opened, she’d gone over to investigate and saw the orderly outside. She didn’t think anything of it until she realized that the orderly was new. When her eyes had met his, she’d thought they looked so familiar. She then realized that the person standing in the hall outside her room was Finn. Finn, who she was sure was dead, was alive and he must have some plan to rescue them. Now she just needed to wait. 

…

This was the second time in only a few minutes that Bellamy stood gawking. This time it was to stare around at an amazing collection of weapons. Eva had lead him down a flight of stairs and then they had casually walked to a room down the hall. She opened the door with a key card and quickly went in. He followed, but while she looked through the weapons picking up a couple of rifles and ammunition, he just stood there. 

“Are you going to help?” she asked in frustration. 

He wasn’t sure where to start. “Use this,” She threw a bag at him which hit him in the face and slid to the floor. 

He leaned down to grab the bag and then went over to one of the tables with various weapons on it. He picked up a couple of automatic rifles, using the straps to sling them on his back, and then found some handguns and dumped them in the bag along with ammunition for both guns.

Continuing to look through the items, he found grenades and then smoke bombs. An idea began to form. Taking one of the smoke bombs and looking it over he asked, “How many security rooms do they have in this place?”

He saw Eva look up, “Two … one on this floor which mainly observes the ward and one on the top floor that watches the outside.”

"What’s the plan for shutting down the cameras?" 

Eva explained, “Finn’s friend was going to try and tap in to the security feed and create a loop.”

"Monty? He’s here?" Bellamy asked with excitement.

"Yes, I think that was his name." 

Bellamy smiled. If anyone could tap into the security feed it would be Monty, but would he have enough time? ”Maybe we should provide insurance,” he announced holding up the smoke bomb.

Eva looked at him a little confused and then realization dawned. ”I’ll lead the way,” she put down the weapons she had picked up as did Bellamy. He concealed two smoke bombs under his jacket.

They exited the room and once again casually walked down the hall. Eva stopped beside a simple door, which Bellamy rightly assumed was the security room for the ward, and they stood there for a few moments as if in conversation while Bellamy discreetly pulled out the bombs handing one to Eva. He then opened the door slightly as they pulled the pins from the units and threw them in. Bellamy quickly shut the door and both of them leaned against it. 

Within seconds, they heard a person crash against the door trying to get out and then another, but they held tight until no sounds were heard. Eva glanced over at Bellamy and they both headed back to the weapon’s room.

…

Clarke was still waiting almost 20 minutes later. She heard the door handle turn and then the usual orderly walked in. While he was holding the door open, an announcement was made over loud speakers requesting that all personnel report to the fifth floor. ”Fire on site; all hands needed,” the voice repeated.

The orderly had paused to listen to the message and then he was slammed into the room crashing into the wall across from her. The food tray flew out of his hands and food and other items rained down everywhere. Finn stood at the door and yelled, “Clarke get his key card and start getting people out of here. Send them down to the stairwell,” she saw Finn gesture to his left, “Bellamy is waiting to lead them out. I’ll start at the other end of the hall.” At that he was gone and Clarke could only stare at the door as it clicked closed. 

The orderly moaned and hearing this spurred her into action rushing over to him to search his pockets for the key card. Neither pocket of the lab coat contained the key, and just as her fingers moved to check the pockets of his scrubs, he let out another moan shifting this time to the side. Panic began to well in her and just then her fingers brushed against the hard plastic, which she grasped and pulled out. 

She stood and turned towards the door when he grabbed her by the leg tripping her. She fell to the ground, but quickly rolled over to look at him. Blood was dripping from the side of his head and he still seemed dazed by the fall, but he had a good grip on her left foot. Using her right foot, she kicked him in the face as hard as she could from her position. It hit him squarely in the nose and he cried out in pain releasing her foot. She reached over to grab the food tray laying nearby and getting to her feet, she crashed it over his head knocking him out. 

She raced to the door and opened it. Monty was standing there waiting for her, ”Let’s go. Finn said he’d meet us at the end of the hall.” Clarke looked in the direction that she’d seen Finn run and already some of the delinquents were running down the hall towards her and Monty.

…

Bellamy and Eva had just reentered the weapon’s room and were picking up the items they had put down earlier when a loud speaker announcement was made about a fire. They heard running in the hall and ducked under the tables in case someone decided to come in and grab any weapons. They waited for a few minutes, but no one entered. 

“We need to go,” Eva called. “I believe that was the distraction Finn mentioned.”

Bellamy nodded and as he moved to the door, he saw a crossbow on the table. He scooped it up as well as a bundle of arrows, which he placed in the bag. 

Eva was slightly ahead of him running down the hall, and as she ran past one of the doors, someone exited the room. The person was surprised to see her and called out to her to "Stop". Bellamy slammed him from behind, knocking him out cold.

“Nice hit,” Eva yelled back. Bellamy smirked. 

When they got to the stairwell, Eva indicated that he should go down one floor while she would go up and open the side door so that everyone could exit out to the trees up the hill. Bellamy nodded in agreement and headed down. 

As he rounded the corner on the stairs, the first delinquent ran into him. Bellamy reached out to steady the boy and then urged him to continue up and out of the facility. Within minutes, Bellamy was stationed at the stairwell door and saw more of their people running to him. He could see the fear on their faces, but they followed his direction without question. A few shoes were scattered on the floor near the door as were some bags of more shoes and other clothing. As the kids ran by, he urged everyone to grab shoes and other items on their way up the stairs. 

Miller rounded the corner a few minutes later and upon seeing Bellamy, his face lit up in a smile. Bellamy threw a rifle to him and shouted instructions to guard the group on the hill outside. Other gunners followed and Bellamy greeted each one by handing them one of the rifles and further instructions. The plan was working, he grinned to himself.

…

Clarke ran up the hall to the next room and opened it indicating to the person inside to come with her. She repeated this for each room as Monty indicated to them to run down the hall to the stairwell. 

At one point, Jasper rushed up to them assisting Raven who was having trouble moving quickly. Clarke could see the pain that was pulling at her eyes and mouth. “Monty,” Jasper cried out. 

Jasper released Raven and she sagged against the wall as Monty turned toward his friend and the two hugged. 

“Thank god you are alright. I wanted to search for you --” Jasper was laughing as he pounded his friend on the arm.

Clarke interrupted, “We’ll have time for catching up when we are away from this place. Take Raven and get her out.”

Jasper nodded slipping his arm around Raven’s back urging her along. She grimaced, but hurried.

Clarke and Monty continued to release people from the rooms until they had opened the last one. Clarke looked back down the hall wondering if she should go and help Finn and noticed a small group of people standing around the rooms she had already opened. “Come on,” she yelled at the group as well as gestured to Monty to head to the stairwell. Monty took off, but the others did not move.

"Clarke, we’re not going with you," the boy named Paul said.

"What do you mean? We’ve got to go now,” Clarke’s brow furrowed in confusion as she ran back to them. 

"We’re safe here. We have food to eat and a roof over our heads. We’re staying and you should to," this time Liza spoke up.

"You are locked up like prisoners," Clarke reminded them.

"Not for long. We’ve spoken to Dr. Ackermann and we’ll soon be able to live among them as members of the community. We’ll have rooms of our own," Paul explained.

"There is something going on here," Clarke cried. "Don’t you sense that?"

The five people shook their heads at her, “Clarke, they are nice. They are taking good care of us.” 

Just then Anya with two other grounders rounded the corner running right toward the group. They slowed for a second and Clarke and the others parted pressing themselves against the walls. The two groups stared at one another until Anya nodded at Clarke and the three continued down toward the stairwell. 

After the Grounders passed, Clarke returned to trying to reason with the five people that were refusing to leave. During this time, Finn ran up to them and stopped next to her, his fingers warm as they closed around her hand. Where a week ago she would have pulled away from this intimacy, she now welcomed the supportive gesture.

“Finn,” Clarke pleaded with her eyes, “Please make them see reason. They want to stay.”

Finn looked over at the five of them in disbelief, “They experiment on people in here; you are to be part of this.”

Clarke was a little surprised, but Finn’s explanation was reasonable. 

“No, Finn. It is not like that. They just want to make sure that we don’t have any diseases or toxins,” Liza argued.

“They want healthy people to use for reproduction. You’re breeding material,” Finn declared.

“We’re safe here,” Paul shot back.

Clarke could feel the tension humming in Finn and she felt him look over at her as he said, “You can’t save everyone. We have to go.” 

These were the exact words Miller had said to her that night. The night she thought she’d killed Finn and Bellamy. Finn stood before her, his eyes pleading with her to leave, his hand warm in hers. 

“Clarke … Finn … let’s go,” Clarke heard the bellow from down the hall. She’d recognize Bellamy’s voice anywhere and she looked over at him. 

“They want to stay,” Clarke called back to him indicating the five people in front of her.

“Leave them,” Bellamy responded, and Finn stepped around her pulling her by the hand. Clarke followed looking back at the five people they were leaving behind. Would they ever see them again?

As they approached the stairwell, Finn pulled her ahead of him and urged her up the stairs. Bellamy was a flight ahead of them and she could hear other people running up. 

As they rounded the stairs just past the fourth floor, they heard the door open and a shout. Seconds later shots were fired up at them and Finn pushed her down into a crouch, covering her with his body as he cursed, “Shit!” They continued running and could hear the two people below call for others and then begin to follow them up. Another shot was fired and it ricocheted throughout the stairwell. Finn leaned into her once again and then urged her on. 

Clarke heard a woman call out, “Bellamy -- Anna.”

Clarke and Finn were on the final flight up and Clarke saw Bellamy go to a door and swing it open. He reached in, grabbed a young girl, and then ran straight out the door across from the room. Clarke and Finn where not far behind. 

The sun was bright and blinded Clarke at first, but Finn again grabbed her hand and pulled her along. Clarke looked up to see all the delinquents running up the slope in front of them; some of them had made it to the trees in the distance. It was a mass exodus and she smiled with hope even though she knew guards were not far behind. 

Clarke felt Finn tighten his grip on her hand to gain her attention and then she heard Raven’s name. She looked over to the right to see Raven struggling just ahead of them. She understood Finn’s request and the two of them ran up to her, putting their arms behind her back and lifting her to move her quickly up the hill. Raven smiled at both of them in thanks. 

Moments later shots were fired at them from behind, but landed in the dirt near their feet. Finn, Clarke and Raven stopped in their tracks and slowly turned around. Within seconds, Bellamy slid next to Finn pushing both Clarke and Raven back so they stood behind the two men. 

Bellamy tossed Finn a crossbow and then lifted a rifle to hold on the men below. In response to Finn’s raised brow as he’d caught the crossbow, Bellamy said “Since you don’t like guns, I got this for you.”

In the tense silence that followed, Clarke looked around and saw that Miller, Harper, Jasper and the other gunners had also stopped on the hill and had their weapons trained on the group below while the rest continued to run to the trees. An unknown woman stood a little way off holding the girl that Bellamy had grabbed earlier. Where had she come from?

The moment was ripe with tension and Clarke took a deep breath calling out to the men below, “It’s a standoff and you are outnumbered.”

“Not for long,” the man who seemed in charge responded. 

Clarke hadn’t seen him before. He had dusky skin, brown eyes, military style hair-cut, but was smartly dressed in a suit with two guards next to him their guns trained on the group running up the hill.

“We just want to be left alone,” Clarke demanded. 

“We can’t do that. You won’t survive on your own.”

“We will,” she vowed, “If you leave us alone. We don’t want to be part of what you are doing in there.”

“And what are we doing?” he held up his hands in question. ”Just ensuring our survival.”

“Experimenting on innocents.”

"None of you are innocent,” he spat back.

"It still doesn’t give you the right to use us; keep us prisoners. We are leaving,” and with her command a loud boom echoed throughout the valley and shook the ground. For a moment, they all wavered. 

Everyone looked over in the distance and saw smoke rising. A few seconds later, another man ran out the door and over to the man in charge leaning up to whisper something. The two spoke in heated whispers and gestures off to the area where the explosion had occurred.

“I think you have your hand’s full,” Clarke announced seeing the frown on his face. “I assume reinforcements are not coming.”

Instead of responding to Clarke’s observation, he growled, “Eva … come back here now.”

Clarke saw him look over at the woman she noticed earlier with the child. “No, Dinesh. I’m leaving.”

“You can’t,” he commanded. “You carry the future with you.”

“None of you deserve a future,” she cried back.

The two glowered at each other for a space of time until the guard pulled at Dinesh’s sleeve. “Fine,” he spat. “Let’s see how long you make it out there without food and hunted by Grounders and Reapers.” 

He then turned back to Clarke saying, “Ms. Griffin, this is not that last time we’ll meet, but as you say, I have other more pressing concerns.”

With that, he signaled the three others back inside and closed the door with a snap. Clarke could hardly believe that they were free and knew that every moment they stood here risked that freedom. “Let’s go,” she indicated to everyone and they continued the long trek up the hill.


	8. Among Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I developed new characters for this chapter - Henry, Eva, Anna, Dinesh, unknown orderly, and unknown guards.
> 
> I re-edited this chapter on August 14th to clean up the flow and flush out other details.

Finn along with Clarke eased Raven down onto a fallen log at the site where he, Bellamy, and Henry had made their plans the night before. Raven winced as he settled her, but looked up at him with a grateful smile.

When he had swung open her door earlier and seen her pacing her room, he’d been thankful that not only was she alive, but was up and walking albeit with some discomfort. He’d called to Jasper to help her out and then freed the others meeting up with Clarke for the mad dash out of Mount Weather and the confrontation that followed. 

But now, their group seemed safe although exhausted. Seeing Raven settled, Finn stepped towards Clarke planning to inspect her feet. He had noticed that both Clarke and Raven had begun to limp about half way up the hill, which is also when he realized that neither was wearing any shoes.

Before he could urge Clarke to sit, her arms closed about him in a fierce hug. The soft curls of her hair brushed his face as she said with a whisper near his ear, “I thought I killed you.”

"I’m not that easy to get rid of," Finn chuckled as he squeezed her tighter. It felt good holding her in his arms and he held her close for a few seconds longer. The rhythm of their heartbeats seemed to blend together and for the first time in days he could breathe. Easing back from her embrace, he encouraged her to also sit on the log next to Raven. 

As Clarke sat, Raven turned and asked, “Killed him? What happened?”

Finn kneeled at Clarke’s feet and lifted one of them up for inspection as Clarke explained what occurred after Raven had lost consciousness the day of the Grounder attack. As Finn suspected, the bottoms of Clarke’s stocking feet were ripped and covered in dirt and ground cover. He felt her flinch and glanced up with an apologetic smile as he removed a sock seeing a piece of it stick to one of the deeper cuts. Her feet had a number of cuts and scratches on them where rocks or branches had torn through the material and they would need to be treated before they resumed their escape, but it didn’t look too serious.

Patting her leg he said, “Stay here for a second.”

Finn jumped up and jogged quickly over to a wooded area across from them. He called out to Bellamy, “Bellamy - Clarke and Raven need shoes.” 

Bellamy had been talking to some of his gunners on the other side of the clearing, but looked over at Finn upon hearing his shout. He acknowledged Finn’s request with a nod before moving off to find shoes.

Reaching a large pine tree, Finn pulled out the packs that he’d stashed there earlier in the day and then trotted back to Clarke and Raven.

"My pack," Clarke responded with a smile upon her face.

"I thought we might need it," Finn set the pack beside her and Clarke opened it up. A map lay on top and he saw Clarke lift it up, holding it out to him in question. 

"Sorry," Finn felt heat rise in his cheeks, guilty that he had looked through her pack and used it on the trip. 

Clarke gave him a knowing look before handing him the map and then began to look carefully through the medical supplies she had placed inside when they were getting ready to flee the camp. Finn took this time to lean over to inspect Raven’s feet much as he had Clarke’s a few moments ago. Raven’s feet were less torn up, likely because they had carried her up the hill, but she still had some painful scrapes. 

Seeing Clarke pull out two bottles and some rags, he took the items from her before she could start working on her feet, “Let me.”

She smiled her thanks and resting her hands beside her on the log asked, “How did you get away? How did you find us?”

Finn smiled back at her and then glanced over at Raven where he saw similar questions in her eyes. He began to explain all that had happened the last two days while he used Monty’s moonshine to clean the wounds and some thick salve to treat the cuts. 

Once he’d finished with Clarke’s first foot, he realized that he didn’t have anything to cover up the wounds. He couldn’t use the torn and dirty socks she had worn or the rags he’d use to disinfect the cuts. Looking around at some of the items nearby, he glanced down at the scrub he still wore that Eva had given him thinking it would likely make a good bandage. 

He carefully rested Clarke’s foot on his knee, slipped the lab coat off, and then reached for the hem of the scrub pulling it over his head. He took out the knife he had stashed in his waistband and used it to cut the shirt into sections he could use to cover both Clarke’s and Raven’s feet. 

Using the sections, he bandaged up Clarke’s first foot and began work on the second while Clarke and Raven peppered him with questions about Lincoln, Octavia, and Henry. Once both of Clarke’s feet were bandaged, he moved over to treat Raven. 

Just as Finn reached the part about entering the supply closet in Mount Weather, Bellamy appeared with a bag. He held it up saying, “Shoes,” as he smiled at them. He then reached in the bag and pulled out Finn’s shirt and jacket. He threw the items at Finn, “I think you need these, after all you already have enough women fawning over you.”

Finn caught the items. ”You’re one to talk,” he retorted. 

Finn saw both Clarke and Raven blush, which prompted him to pull on his shirt. He then went back to work on Raven’s feet as Bellamy crouched down next to Clarke and handed her the bag with shoes. 

"I’m glad you’re both okay," Bellamy said to the women.

Before anyone could say more, they heard a young voice cry out, “Finn” followed by a little bundle charge into their group and fling herself at Finn. As her arms wrapped around his neck from the side, Finn sat Raven’s bandaged foot down and gave the girl a hug while the other three looked on in surprise. 

Eva cleared her throat from behind them, “Sorry about that. She’s been looking for you Finn.”

"It’s okay," Finn smiled at Anna. He then looked up at Eva, "Eva this is Clarke and Raven." Finn then gestured to Eva, "This is Eva and her sister Anna. They helped us escape."

Anna had pulled away from Finn and was now standing with her sister. The group of six looked awkwardly around at each other until Eva broke the silence by saying, “If you hand me what you’ve been using to clean the wounds, I’ll take care of some of the others.” She gestured to other delinquents sitting about holding up cut feet or legs. ”I’ve taken care of more than a few scrapes on this little one,” Eva said tousling Anna’s hair. 

Nodding in agreement, Finn poured some moonshine on one of the rags, took a scoop of salve, and a section of the scrub before handing the rest of the supplies over to Eva. Finn watched Eva and Anna walk off and wondered if Eva was regretting going with them. Their group must seem like a rag tag bunch.

"How did you meet up with her?" Raven questioned as three pairs of eyes swung his way.

"I’d like to hear this story as well," Bellamy seconded dryly.

Taking up Raven’s second foot to finish treating any wounds, Finn explained how he met Eva and the plan the two of them had concocted and how it played out. Bellamy had filled in sections of the story as well and everyone still seemed surprised to have gotten away. Tying the bandage in place, Finn looked up at Raven and noticed a small sheen of sweat on her face and that she was leaning slightly in the direction of her previous injury. 

He glanced at the area where she had been shot and saw some blood. ”Clarke,” he said using his head to indicate that she needed to examine Raven’s injury. 

Seeing both Finn and Clarke looking at her, Raven waved her hand to indicate that she was fine, “Clarke needs to check on the others.”

"No – I need to take care of you. You are bleeding," was Clarke’s gruff reply.

Raven glanced down as Clarke moved in front of her and Finn stood to move out of the way, grabbing up his jacket and crossbow from the ground and putting both items in the other pack he had retrieved earlier. Finn saw Clarke lift up Raven’s shirt to expose Raven’s bandage covered side. Blood was seeping through and when Clarke had removed the wrapping, he saw that a stitch was tore out. 

Clarke found a clean section on the rag Finn had kept after handing the other supplies to Eva. Although the pain must have been terrible, Raven held still as Clarke cleaned the wound. ”I think if we bind it, it will stop bleeding,” Clarke presumed as she looked up at Finn. 

Finn had given the remaining scrub top to Eva, but he reached down and ripped off the bottom half of his scrub pant leg. He needed to find his jeans anyway, he thought to himself. He handed the cloth to Clarke who used it to bind the wound. 

Seeing that Raven was almost patched up, Bellamy murmured to Finn, “We need to determine our next move.”

Picking up the map, Finn opened it on the ground in the middle of the group. Bellamy used the map to point to a location along the coast, “Octavia and Lincoln are headed to Luna by the Sea which is where we need to go. The problem I see is that we don’t have any supplies and the walk will take us three or four days.”

"We actually have a bigger problem," Finn replied looking directly at Bellamy who looked back at him in question. Finn announced, "There are Ark survivors on Earth."

Hearing Clarke’s in drawn breath, everyone looked over at her. ”That’s right. While we were under attack, we saw the Ark falling to Earth. I can’t believe there were survivors.”

"It sounded like there might be more than 300 people and at least two sections of the station,” Finn went on to repeat the conversation that he had overheard. He then reached out to touch Clarke’s arm, "They said that there was a transmission from the ground to the Ark station from Dr. Griffin to Councellor Jaha."

Clarke looked at Finn with some confusion before whispering in disbelief, “My mom’s alive?” 

"It seems that way," Finn acknowledged. He saw tears begin to gather in her eyes and he squeezed her arm in support. 

"Do you know where they are?" Bellamy asked.

"No," Finn shook his head sadly, "Deep in Grounder territory is all I heard."

Bellamy scoffed, “And we have no idea how big that is.”

"I do," a voice behind them replied. Eva had returned with the supplies. She handed them to Clarke and then leaned down to look at the map. Using her finger, she traced an area on the map saying, “I would guess that this area would be considered solidly in Grounder territory." The area she indicated seemed to be at least a day away if not two.

"I don’t see how we can go after them?" Bellamy questioned. "The Grounders are still looking for us as are the Mountain Men."

"That is exactly why we need to go after them," Clarke pushed. "They don’t know what danger is out there."

"If we go in this big group, we’ll only draw attention to ourselves. We’ll be caught for sure," Bellamy shot back.

"Then we split up," Clarke concluded. 

Bellamy began to shake his head, but Finn interjected, “No, that makes sense. A few of us will split up to find the Ark survivors while the rest head to Luna by the Sea.”

"And who goes after the Ark survivors?" Bellamy questioned.

"I will," Clarke responded.

"As will I," Finn confirmed followed by Raven’s affirmative response.

"I’m not letting the three of you go alone," Bellamy stated as he looked over at the group of delinquents. "I’ll go with you and Miller and Harper can lead the main group to Luna by the Sea."

"I will help them," Eva volunteered. The four of them turned to look at her, "I’m familiar with the route."

"There is also Monty and Jasper," Finn reminded. Before he could say more, the two in question moved out of the trees nearby. They had obviously been listening in. 

"Not a chance, if there are survivors from the Ark, we are going with you," Jasper vowed while Monty nodded beside him. 

In the end it was decided that Finn, Clarke, Raven, Bellamy, Monty, Jasper, and Fox would search for the survivors while Miller, Harper, Monroe, and Eva would lead the others to Luna by the Sea. 

Since both trips would be grueling, they would return to the dropship to gather supplies before splitting up which meant they needed to get on the move before nightfall. Bellamy and Clarke organized the group to move out while Finn found something Raven could use as a crutch. Before too long, they were on the trail back to the dropship that many of them thought they would never see again.

…

Clarke had spent most of the day encouraging and directing the delinquents, often speaking with Bellamy on which way to proceed and who should be assigned certain tasks. They had also spent some time discussing the possibility that the Grounders were waiting at the dropship ready to ambush them. 

Therefore, they decided to camp nearby and keep a watch on the dropship to see if anyone was lurking about before getting the supplies. If all was clear, then in the pre-dawn hours, a few people would sneak in under the watchful eyes of the gunners. The idea was to move in quick and get out.

Once everyone had settled in for the long night ahead, Clarke realized that she hadn’t seen Finn all afternoon. She looked for him now without success. 

She easily located Raven who sat with Monty and Jasper as they seemed to entertain her with some story. None of them had seen Finn. She then sought out Bellamy who sat with Eva deep in a discussion about the route Eva’s group should take the next day. Bellamy hadn’t given any orders to Finn, but noted that Finn had seemed determined to scout ahead. 

Realizing where they were, she headed in the direction of the hillside where she had sat with Finn to gaze at the stars not long ago. She remembered him saying that he often went there for time to himself. As she walked, she felt comforted by the noise in the woods especially in the evening. It was much better than the silence in the room where she had been held for three days. 

Pushing through some bushes, she saw Finn standing next to a tree looking down at the area behind them. He turned to look at her as she asked, “What are you doing?”

Finn gestured to the sight before them, “Looking for campfires or other indications that people are nearby.”

Clarke walked up to him and stood there looking out on the area below. The moon was bright overhead and seemed to shine like a light on everything. Clarke saw a fire wink in the distance, “What’s that?” she questioned pointing her finger toward the fire.

"I think that is the fire Henry set on Mount Weather," he looked down at her with a sad smile. "I didn’t think he’d set it so big. It wasn’t meant to hurt anyone."

Seeing his regret, Clarke wrapped her left arm around him and leaned her head against his shoulder. ”You’re too kind-hearted Finn Collins.”

She felt his head touch hers, but he didn’t respond. They stood that way for several minutes, just enjoying the beauty of the night and the silence around them not needing to fill it with words. 

”Thank you for coming after us,” Clarke whispered.

She felt him smile as he replied, “My pleasure. I enjoyed being your knight.”

She gently slapped his stomach as she said, “Some knight - I remember having to do quite a bit of work to save myself after you pushed an orderly into my room.”

Finn exclaimed in mock surprise, “I assumed you wouldn’t appreciate being rescued without having some hand in it.”

Clarke laughed and then confessed, “I rather liked kicking that orderly in the face.”

Finn chuckled, “Did he call you princess?”

"Ha Ha," Clarke replied mockingly.

Finn closed his arms about her and held her for few minutes. She breathed in the scent of him and began to relax until the memory of Mount Weather washed over her and she shuttered at the thought. Finn squeezed her tighter in response and then said, “I need to take a last look around. Go get some rest. We start early tomorrow.”

He pulled away from her and she watched him jog off to the left. She turned heading back to camp at a slow pace. She still wasn’t sure whether a romantic relationship between the two of them was even possible, but for now they were close friends supporting each other and with Grounders, Reapers, Mountain Men and Ark survivors, their hands were full. 

Walking past a group of trees, she ran into Raven. Clarke let out a small gasp of surprise and reached out with a steadying hand. ”Are you looking for Finn?” Clarke asked glancing back over her shoulder. ”He just left so you should be able to find him.”

"No, it is fine," Raven waved her hand in dismissal. "I’ll find him later." 

Clarke went to walk around her when she heard Raven ask, “Are you and Finn together?”

Surprised at the question, Clarke stopped and turned back toward her, ”No.”

Raven smiled sadly, “Did Finn tell you that we broke up?”

“No, but I know that you did. I overheard a conversation the two of you had a few days ago,” Clarke looked down guiltily. “I didn’t mean to listen in.” 

”I’m not surprised he didn’t tell you.” Raven headed over to a nearby rock to sit down. “He was always good at keeping things private.”

“Yes, he never said much about his life on the Ark.” Clarke paused and then feeling the need to elaborate said, “But then again, none of us really wanted to remember. This was our fresh start.”

Raven didn’t reply, but seeing her sitting on the rock with her head hung down, her foot drawing some random design in the dirt, Clarke felt the need to stay. She recognized this kind of sadness and knew that the best treatment was an open ear. 

The two sat in tense silence for a time until Raven confessed, ”I haven’t had many friends that were girls.” Raven looking over at Clarke, “I’ve mainly had Finn to talk to about things.”

Clarke smiled in understanding, “Same for me. I had Wells and now he’s gone.” Clarke looked down at her hands trying to push back the memory of his dead body.

"Do you think we could be friends?" Raven asked earnestly. "I know it would be awkward at first, especially because of Finn’s feelings for you, but I could really use a friend."

"I would like that," Clarke smiled over at her. 

Again the silence spread between them, but this time some of the tension had been released. “Did he ever tell you how he got locked up?”

Clarke looked over at Raven confused, “I think most of us know the story.”

"No, I mean the actual reason?" 

Shaking her head no, Clarke responded, "We’ve never talked about it."

“Typical Finn -- Always let people assume the worst.” She paused seeming to gather her thoughts as her hand rubbed her brow. “Well I guess it really is my story to tell.” Clearing her throat, she continued, “As you know, I was a zero-G mechanic on the Ark.”

"One of the best," Clarke chimed in lightheartedly.

Raven smiled and went on, “While out on a repair, I saw one of the air scrubbers was not working at 100%. After looking it over, I had an idea on how I might fix it, thinking that it might improve the air quality on the Ark. I spoke to my supervisor, but he wasn’t convinced that it would work. Not only that, he felt that it was too dangerous and dismissed it.”

Raven looked up at the sky as if looking for the Ark, “I couldn’t let it go. I keep thinking about how I knew I could repair it, so I convinced Finn to help me sneak into the repair bay. He would then monitor me out in space on the repair and if something went wrong, he could pull me in. I figured that once I fixed it, all would be forgiven if we were caught.”

"Better to ask for forgiveness than permission?" Clarke queried.

"Something like that. Finn actually found another friend to join us and the three of us snuck into the repair bay late one night. I put on my space suit and went out to complete the work. It wasn’t long until I realized that my idea was faulty and my repair wasn’t going to fix it after all. As I floated there pondering the problem, some piece of space debris hit me and knocked me off the side of the ship dazing me. Finn pulled on a suit and came out after me. He was able to reel me in and get me back to the hatch door, but just as his friend pulled me in, we heard someone enter the bay." 

Raven seemed lost in the memory continuing to speak in a slow even pace, “His friend slammed the hatch door shut trapping Finn outside and then he pulled me into a storage area to hide. We hoped that the person would leave quickly and then we’d get Finn back inside. Instead, it was my supervisor and he saw Finn floating outside and got him back in. He marched Finn right off that night.”

Clarke noticed a few tears gathering at the corners of Raven’s eyes, “I wanted to come forward and tell everyone the truth, but Finn wouldn’t let me. He said that I was the one with a promising future and it made much more sense for him to be locked up rather than both of us. I reluctantly agreed.”

Clarke looked at Raven surprised to hear this side of the story. ”I guess that explains why so much oxygen was used.”

"Yes," Raven smiled over at her.

"Why are you telling me this?" Clarke questioned.

“Because Finn would never tell you,” Raven’s brow furrowed, “And I think you should know that he’s loyal to those that he loves.”

Clarke reached over to squeeze Raven’s arm, “I know this about Finn, but it doesn’t change the fact that –“

Raven interrupted, “I haven’t finished. When I finally got to speak with Finn after he was sent to prison, he actually broke it off with me. He thought it was best for me to move on with my life with someone else. I thought he was being noble; I refused to let him break it off. We even argued, but I was desperate. He was my world up to that point and I was already losing him to prison. I didn’t want to lose him permanently." Raven wiped at her tears and glanced over at Clarke.

"I realize now that he’d been pulling away from me for a while and it explains why I felt so desperate." Raven scoffed, "I don’t know why we do that? Why we cling to someone even more when they are pulling away? Seeing my panic and my tears, Finn gave in. We never talked about it again, but we weren’t as close. I thought it was from being apart, but I realize now that he just didn’t feel the same way about me." 

"Finn loves you Raven," Clarke reassured her.

"Not the way he loves you," Raven replied continuing to look at Clarke. "If he loved me that way, I wouldn’t let him go."

Clarke turned away from her. It wasn’t that easy for her. The relationship that she had begun with Finn a month ago had been shattered by Raven’s arrival and once shattered, only time and trust could rebuild it.


	9. Ark Survivors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I developed new characters for this chapter - Misty, Bethany, David, Vander, unnamed Ark Survivors, unnamed Reapers
> 
> Note: Edited Chapter on September 2nd to change John Murphy's Dad to his Mom since his Dad was actually floated.

Clarke blinked open her eyes and was greeted by a hazy bright white light. For a moment, fear gripped at her chest until her eyes focused on the white object in front of her and she realized it wasn’t the walls of the room that had held her prisoner for three days, but rather a flower. The flower was similar to the one that Finn had shown her their first night on Earth, but in the light of day it was white rather than blue. Pulling it closer, she breathed in its scent and looked out across the camp. Slightly to her right lay Finn who was gazing at her with a slight smile on his lips. 

She smiled back in thanks and then watched him sit up and stretch. Lost in following his movements, in particular the way his shirt rippled across his back emphasizing the muscles underneath, she jumped with a screech when Bellamy nudged her foot. “Get up.”

Rolling over and glaring up at Bellamy, she grumbled “Good morning to you too.”

He smirked down at her, as if he knew that he’d caught her gawking, and then walked away. Clarke lay there staring up at the sky for a few seconds slightly embarrassed to have been caught, but then drawn in to the beauty overhead, marveling at the way the rays of the sun were beginning to creep across the vast darkness painting it with the most incredible colors. At this moment, she realized how much she had missed the beauty of the morning these past few days.

She glanced over to see what Finn was doing only to find that he was already gone. She pushed to her feet, tucked the flower away along with her blanket, and then took her pack to pile it with the others.

"Clarke," was the shout she heard from Bellamy and realized that she needed to hurry up as he was already out of sight.

…

What had started out as a beautiful day had quickly lost its shine after she had to lay in wait on a nearby ridge for what seemed like hours. She along with a few gunners lay on their bellies training their weapons down below looking for any signs of an ambush. Clarke’s arms ached from holding herself up and the tension in general was high even though they hadn’t see movement anywhere. 

Jasper nudged her gesturing to where Bellamy had hidden himself. Finally, Bellamy was sending the group of volunteers in with a few gunners flanking each side. Bellamy took up the lead as they cautiously moved forward. 

Nothing moved other than their group below until Clarke saw motion from the corner of her eye. Someone was walking toward Bellamy and when she focused in on the person, she realized that it was Finn. He must have used the side tunnel to meet up with the group. 

Finn spoke with Bellamy before heading to the dropship followed by the other volunteers. He pushed through the tarp that had remained in tack these past few days and Clarke held her breath hoping that no one was hidden inside. A few minutes later the group exited, their arms laden with packs. 

Before Clarke could breathe a sigh of relief, a shout was heard from the left side of the camp and Clarke saw everyone below turn toward the call. Jasper tensed bringing his rifle up to train it in the area where they heard the shout. 

Scanning below, Clarke noticed a woman come into view, her arms outstretched. This was their worst fear — an ambush, but the group along with Bellamy and Finn didn’t react as if the woman was a threat. In fact, Clarke watched in disbelief as Finn ran over to her and slipped his arm around her shoulders. She seemed to sag against him and he held her up saying something to Bellamy.

Clarke saw Bellamy turn in her direction and signal for her to come down. Not trusting that the situation was in hand, she called to the gunners to hold their position while she went to see what was happening. 

Half sliding and half jumping her way down the slope, she scanned the area keeping her eyes open for others that might be lying in wait. Hurrying through the gate and over to the group, she stepped up next to Bellamy asking out of breath, “What is going on?”

Instead of answering, Bellamy pointed to the woman leaning against Finn. Clarke looked over at her, not sure what she was supposed to see, and then it dawned on her that the woman wasn’t dressed as a Grounder or one of the people from Mount Weather. Instead she wore a well-worn gray top, oversized pants, and a blue jacket similar to the ones being worn by many in their group. Scanning her face, Clarke recognized her as being from the Ark, but she couldn't remember her name. 

Stepping towards her, Clarke reached out a hand, “You are hurt,” nodding to the gash on the woman’s cheek, “I can help.”

The woman lifted her glaze, “Clarke Griffin?”

Clarke smiled warmly continuing to hold out a hand to her.

"There are others and I’m supposed to bring you to them," the woman stammered. 

"Let’s help you first."

Shaking her head, she pushed off Finn and grabbed for Clarke grasping the sleeve of her jacket, pulling at her. ”I’ve wasted two days looking for you. We need to get back.”

Tears were now streaming down her face and Finn reached out to settle a hand on her shoulders, trying to calm her. ”Please — people are hurt and so many have already died,” she cried looking around frantically.

Clarke felt tears gather in her eyes, the woman’s desperation clawing at her. ”We will — we’ll go with you, but right now let me look at your injuries.

The woman crumbed to the ground in tears repeatedly saying no, no.

Moving closer, Clarke kneeled before her taking her hand. ”It will be all right, I promise.” She looked up at Finn, “Search our supplies for anything we can use to treat her injuries.”

Finn nodded and headed back to the dropship. Clarke heard Bellamy order the gunners to take different positions along the fence line and then barked at the rest of the group to look for water, food, and anything else useful. 

With the woman’s sobs subsiding, Clarke reached over to push her hair out of her face and tilt her chin back to get a better look at the cut that marred it. The blood was dry and the area was turning black indicating that the injury was a few days old. She probed at it gently with her fingers and saw the woman grimace in pain. 

She felt someone kneel next to her and shifted to look over to the side. It was Bellamy and he handed her a rag that was dripping with Monty’s moonshine. A smile graced her lips as she took the rag and turned back to clean the wound, “This might hurt,” she explained as she dabbed at the edge of the gash.

The woman’s face flinched, but she didn’t make a sound now that the sobs had ended. Instead, she seemed dazed and stared straight ahead not focusing on anything around her. ”I’m sorry — I remember you from the Ark, but I can’t recall your name?”

Several heartbeats passed and just when Clarke assumed she wasn’t going to answer, she whispered, “Misty.”

"Misty, can you tell us what happened? Where are the others?"

Misty’s eyes seemed to roll back in her head as she further collapsed on the ground. Clarke leaned forward to feel for a pulse and finding a steady one, turned to Bellamy saying, “I think she’s okay, just shocked.” 

Across from them, Clarke saw Finn approaching with a box of supplies, which he placed beside Clarke before he too crouched down to survey the woman. ”Is there something that would help her?”

"Rest," Clarke responded pulling the box of supplies over to rifle through them. Inside the box was a crazy assortment of items, most of them not medical in nature, and she wondered what Finn was thinking when he'd thrown them in the box. 

Finn seemed impatient beside her saying, “Clearly this changes our plans. She’s needs some rest and if the survivors are nearby, then we should find them first and have them join the others on the trek to the coast.” He then looked over at Bellamy, ”I think we either take her back to where we camped last night or we bring the others here. I’m not sure which place is easier to defend.”

Clarke watched Bellamy look down at the woman and then back at Finn and herself. Finn was right, having their people waiting in two different areas was risky and it didn’t make sense for the majority of the delinquents to head out if a group of survivors were nearby. 

Bellamy seemed to have reached the same conclusion as he said, “Finn, you go get the rest of the group and bring them back here. Clarke can treat the woman’s injuries and find out where the survivors likely crashed while I get the gunners to start repairing the damage done to our fence.”

Clarke and Finn nodded in agreement. Finn reached out to lift the woman into his arms, “I’ll take her into the dropship and head right out.”

Taking the box of supplies, Clarke followed Finn. Walking through the camp brought flashes of the day after the Grounder’s attack to mind; in particular the images of the two corpses she thought were Finn and Bellamy. She fought to hold the memories back telling herself that she needed to focus on Misty.

Finn pushed through the tarp door of the dropship and laid the woman gently on a makeshift table, the same one Clarke had used to treat Raven and scores of other. 

He turned to Clarke and taking her arm asked, “Are you okay? Anything you need before I head out?” 

Clarke plastered her most reassuring smile on her face before saying, “I’m fine.”

Finn squeezed her arm in reply, “You’re a horrible liar, but I know you’ll make the best of it.” With that he strode out of the dropship and Clarke turned toward her patient.

…

Hearing new voices and several shouts, Clarke assumed that Finn had returned with the rest of the delinquents in tow. She’d spent the time since Finn had left treating Misty’s cuts and scrapes as well as a broken rib. When Misty had regained consciousness, they had spoken at length about the survivors and Clarke had found out that her mother wasn’t in their section. 

She patted Misty’s arm, and then grabbed a rag to wipe her hands, and headed out the door. Briefly blinded by the sunlight, the first thing Clarke saw was Bellamy shouting orders to several of the newcomers. It was then that she noticed all that he had accomplished — much of the debris had been removed to one side of the camp, a few tents had been set-up, and a group of gunners were rebuilding a section of the burnt fence. As the rest of the camp arrived Bellamy assigned each of them tasks. 

Raven and Finn stood with Bellamy and she trotted over to the threesome. ”What did you find out?” Bellamy asked.

"She’s been wandering in the woods for two days, but with her injuries as well as dehydration, I don’t think the group is actually two days away. She also mentioned a landmark that I’m familiar with and it is not far at all. She arrived around midday yesterday, and when she didn’t find us, she was unsure where to head to next and tried sleeping in the ship, but found it spooky and moved out to the woods."

"Any idea of the direction?" Finn asked.

"To the west, but she actually entered the camp from the North, which is another reason why I think she may have taken a circuitous route. I think the four of us with Jasper and Monty should spend the next few hours scouting west. The others can stay here re-packing supplies and setting up our defenses. If we don’t find the group by nightfall, we head back and in the morning we can send everyone out to the coast while we head further west."

Three sets of eyes bore into Clarke and for a few seconds she doubted herself until the three of them nodded in agreement. Bellamy shouted out to Miller and headed in his direction while Finn responded, “Raven and I will pack a few food supplies and other things we might need. We’ll head out in a few minutes?”

Clarke agreed and turned back to the dropship calling to Harper as she walked across camp. She provided Harper instructions on how to care for Misty as she packed up a few supplies to treat the injured. 

Meeting up with the others outside, Clarke stopped beside Finn and Monty who were speaking quietly to each other. ”I really need some more medicine, so can the two of you keep your eyes open for plants we could use?”

"Sure," Monty’s response was quick and Finn echoed his consent. 

Bellamy then called out, “Grab an extra pack or two — I’m hoping that more than just people survived.” The group did so and then headed west.

…

Finn waited patiently for Monty to finish collecting the roots of some plant called Black Snake root. He wasn’t excited to be collecting herbs while scouting for survivors, but Clarke had asked and he agreed. The group of six had split up upon heading west and although Finn would have rather teamed up with Clarke, he grabbed Monty planning to take him off the beaten path and hopefully find some useful medicine and food along the way. 

While Monty worked at the roots, Finn saw a familiar bush up ahead and wondered if it might be full of those berries that he remembered as being very delicious. Walking up to the plant, he surveyed the branches for the fruit, but then paused because he thought he heard someone talking. It seemed a little way off, but it was clearly voices. “Monty – do you hear that?”

Monty looked up tilting his head to listen. After several seconds, his eyes got big and he stood walking over to Finn. “Yes, someone is talking up ahead. Maybe Jasper or one of the others?”

“Let’s go see.”

Finn strode off with Monty at his heels, both stepping quietly and keeping to the trees. Creeping up to some bushes, they slowly pushed them aside revealing a small clearing with a handful of people standing or sitting about. One woman was caring for an injured individual, others sat around a fire, but the conversation that they’d overhead was likely from the three men standing off to the side. 

“Mom,” Finn heard Monty shout just before he pushed through the bush and ran into the clearing. Clearly they had found some survivors, but based on the size of the group, Finn assumed it must be the smaller section mentioned by the Mountain Men. 

Using the radio, Finn called the others. ”We found them.”

"Where are you?" crackled through the device seconds later. 

"Not exactly sure; head toward the river where we found the seaweed, but keep to the tree line going northwest. You should see some campfire smoke."

"I have an idea of the general direction," Finn heard Clarke tell Bellamy. He gritted his teeth trying not to care that they were scouting together. 

Raven chimed in from her radio, “I think I see smoke so I’ll head that way.”

Finn tucked the radio back in his waistline and pushed through the bushes heading toward Monty. 

Monty was wrapped in his Mom’s arms and she was weeping. It brought flashes of his own mother to mind, but he didn't let himself wonder if she survived. 

“And Dad?” he heard Monty ask as he came up alongside the pair. Monty’s mom shook her head in sadness and Finn saw Monty crumble into his mother’s arms.

Slightly uncomfortable with the situation Finn surveyed the camp again seeing now much of the destruction -- the Ark section was torn apart with metal and other objects strewn everywhere. There were also a number of bodies, which some people were trying to bury, as well as a few injured. 

The three men Finn had seen earlier in conversation were headed his way. Without Clarke and Bellamy around, the task fell to Finn to get people gathering supplies and ready to leave. He felt anxiety rise within him and his hands shake slightly; he’d never been good at the inspiring speeches that got the masses to follow your lead. The tallest man, who also seemed in charge, called out, “You’re the delinquents Jaha sent down here?”

Clinching his jaw in annoyance Finn responded, “Yes, I’m Finn Collins. Misty found us and we’re here to bring everyone back to our temporary campsite.”

"Not yet," the man replied. "We need to bury the dead, recover any possible supplies, and stabilize some of the injured as they can’t be moved. The best option might be to have you bring the others here." 

"We are not safe here. We need to grab any usable supplies that we can carry and move out. Didn’t the Chancellor tell you that we’re not the only survivors on Earth?"

The man squinted his eyes accessing Finn, “We didn’t speak much about it as we were in a fight for survival from traitors within.”

"And we’ve been in a fight of our own, which is why our best course of action is to get to the coast as quickly as we can," Finn shot back. "We have a possible ally, but it will take us a few days to get to them. We need to move!"

Thankfully Monty had been listening and pulled away from his mother urging her to help him gather some supplies together. A few others also followed suit.

Still the three men didn’t seem to agree and this time the stocky one replied “We’ve been here for two days and we’ve seen nothing dangerous. If there was a situation, maybe you mismanaged it. I’m sure you’ve done your best to this point, but let’s leave the decisions to the adults now.” The man reached out to pat Finn on the back. 

It was at this point that Clarke, Bellamy, Jasper and Raven entered the clearing, which Finn was grateful for as it gave him a reason to excuse himself. Walking over to them, he saw Jasper head towards Monty as Bellamy said to Raven, “Raven — take the packs and see what supplies you can find.”

She nodded and walked slowly toward the ship. Clarke and Bellamy looked at him in question.

Assuming they wanted an update, Finn started by pointing out to Clarke where the injured were being treated. "I'm not sure what condition they are in, but I was told that several of them can't be moved."

Clarke pursed her lips before saying, "I'll go see how bad it is." She swung her pack off her shoulder and headed toward the bodies laid out near the ship.

Turning to Bellamy, Finn motioned over at the three men behind him, "They refuse to leave."

"Why?" Bellamy asked.

Finn looked back over at the three men still in conversation, "They don't believe we are in any danger."

"You explained about the Grounders?"

"Kind-of, but I didn't have time to provide many details. I was told that we likely "mismanaged" the situation."

"Mismanaged?" Bellamy exclaimed in disbelief. "What do they think is going on here?"

"Not sure, but I'm going to leave it to the adults to figure it out," Finn replied sarcastically.

"Leave it to the adults?" Bellamy echoed in confusion.

"Just repeating what I was told and since you are an adult, I'll leave it to you and go help Clarke." With that Finn turned and headed toward Clarke who was crouching next to someone on the ground.

Bellamy called out, "Coward."

Finn spun around to smirk at Bellamy shrugging his shoulders, "Sometimes it is better to not be in charge." Bellamy threw him the finger and Finn laughed as he continued on his way toward Clarke. 

Stopping next to her, he asked, “What do you think?” 

Rising as she replied, “It's not as bad as I thought. We’re going to need to carry this woman because she has a broken leg and foot. Maybe we can fashion something using the tarp?” Finn called out to Jasper, asking him to look for some poles they could use with the tarp to create a stretcher.

Gesturing to two others, she said, “He has a head injury and the little boy has a broken arm, but they can walk.” 

Seeing one remaining person, Finn asked, “And her?”

Clarke shook her head looking down at the ground, “She’s not going to make it.”

They both headed over to the woman and as Finn neared her, he could clearly see that she was dying. How had she survived? he wondered noticing that a metal bar impaled her side and burns covered most of her body.

As Clarke kneeled down next to her, a man came rushing up to them. ”That is my wife. Leave her alone.”

Clarke and Finn shared a look of sadness before Clarke informed him,”You know we can’t move her and therefore she can’t go with us.”

"Then I'll stay."

"She’s in pain and it is only a matter of time," Clarke explained patiently.

"She’s my wife," was the man’s only response. 

"What is her name?" Clarke asked kindly.

"Bethany," he whispered, "and I'm David."

Clarke reached out to rub his arm, “It is time to let Bethany go David.”

"I can't -- We've lost so much," he looked at Clarke with a hopeless expression.

"You can be with her now and offer her love in these last moments. It's more than many people get."

David looked away and off into the distance. Finn could see that he was struggling to decide what to do and then nodded, "What do we do?"

Clarke looked down and explained, "I think all we need to do is remove the bar. It's likely the only thing keeping her alive as it stopped the flow of blood."

"I'll do it," David stated moving next to his wife, lifting up her hand and smiling down at her. Finn saw her eyes open, but they were dazed with pain and could barely focus on the man. She moaned loudly and then began talking incoherently as her head thrashed side to side. David grasped the bar and Finn waited for him to remove it, but he seemed unable to do it, tears streaming down his face.

Clarke reached out covering his hand gaining his attention, "I'll do this. You talk to her wife; tell her all the things you've been meaning to say, but just didn't have the time for."

"Clarke -- I can do it?" Finn offered. 

"I'll take care of it," she whispered looking over at him with a sad smile, 

Finn's eyes bore into hers, trying his best to offer her the support she needed in these situations. He saw her appreciation before she turned to the couple and Finn left to find Raven.

As Finn headed to the large hole torn out of a section of the ship, he spied Bellamy talking to the group of men Finn had pointed out earlier. They were arguing.

"No — this is not a defensible space. Besides there are only a handful of you. We struggled to defend ourselves with over 80 people as well as a place we had prepared for a several days with traps, bombs, and rocket fuel."

"You had kids; we have men some of which are guards."

The vein in Bellamy’s face ticked, but he kept his cool which impressed Finn knowing how quick Bellamy's temper could flare to the surface. “We’ve been here longer than you and know the dangers that lurk in the woods. You landed in the middle of territory that belongs to a group that thinks it is at war with us, so unless you want to die, we need to leave.” 

Finn skirted the group and ducked into the ship spying Raven pulling at some device attached to the side of the wall. "You’re supposed to be gathering usable items," he teased.

"This is definitely a usable item," Raven assured him. "I might be able to modify it to generate some power."

"Do we need power if we're on the run?" Looking around at the inside of the ship, Finn noticed a pack full of rations half scattered over the floor and leaned down to gather them up.

Throwing up her hands, she responded, "Fine - I'll leave this, but I'm getting into the compartment next to it and the tools that are inside."

Finn smiled to himself knowing that if there were tools, Raven would need to collect them. "Hurry," he encouraged her as he packed up the last ration and slung the pack on his shoulder, "We're heading out."

Exiting the ship, he could see that Bellamy had convinced most of the others of the need to leave. They were packed and had begun to gather next to Bellamy on the far side of the camp where Finn had entered earlier. 

He headed over to Clarke planning to help carry the stretcher, when he noticed that the tall man he had spoken to earlier was angrily headed in Clarke's direction. He increased his own speed and arrived next to Clarke just as the man yelled, "You had no right."

"She was dying," Clarke said in a calm voice.

"How do you know? You're not a doctor," he sneered.

"And neither are you Vander." Finn was taken back when Clarke said what must have been the man's name; clearly that had known each other on the Ark.

"You are just like your mother; making decisions for others." Vander began to move closer to Clarke clenching his fists when Finn stepped between them, pushing on the man's chest to hold him back.

"What are you, the boyfriend?" he snarled at Finn.

"You'll keep your hands off her unless you want to take on all of us," Finn responded coolly. 

Hearing the “us”, Vander looked around and noticed that Monty, Jasper, and Bellamy had moved beside them and behind the trio stood Raven pointing a gun at him. 

The tension practically hummed about them until a voice explained, "It was my decision Vander. Clarke was right, Bethany was dying and she's in a better place."

Vander continued to glare at both Clarke and Finn until he threw up his hands and stomped off. With the situation defused, Bellamy called out that it was time to move out which prompted everyone to pick up any remaining items that they didn't already hold. As Bellamy headed into the woods, everyone followed him, although a few did so reluctantly. 

They were only a couple hundred yards outside the clearing, when a large man stepped from the brush with a demonic smile on his lips. He was dressed in matted fur from head to foot, a bone necklace circled his throat, and he held a wicked looking hatchet in one hand. He growled at them, bringing shrieks of fear from most of the women.

Bellamy raised his gun, zeroing in on the man, but it didn't seem to deter him. Keeping his eye on Bellamy, Finn nudged the person in front of him, indicating that he needed to take a stronger hold of the stretcher so Finn could free his hands. Once free, he slowly reached for the knife that he'd keep in his waistband since the Grounder's raid, and waited for any signal that they should attack. The air seemed to change and he felt the woods around them shift -- they were surrounded by Reapers.

Movement seemed to come from every direction and one of the Reapers grabbed a young girl and she screamed out in fright.

"Let her go," Bellamy yelled, still training his gun on the man who seemed to be the leader. 

Finn noticed that Jasper and Raven also had their weapons trained on the intruders as did Vander and a couple of others. Even so, they seemed outnumbered and the Ark survivors were beginning to panic lending more chaos to the situation. 

"What do we do?" Vander shouted through the noise.

The man in front seemed to be speaking to them, but in a guttural language they had no familiarity with. He waved his arms wildly, his voice low and menacing until he was silenced by an arrow through his eye.

Gasps echoed all around and Finn then heard several more arrows flying and saw them strike the other Reapers. The Reaper that held the girl fell last and those not hit took off into the woods.

Shock enveloped everyone as they looked around for their saviors, "We're even Finn Collins," came a shout from up in the trees.

Finn caught sight of Anya perched up above; she was staring right at him. "Even," Finn called back grateful that Anya and the other Grounders from Mount Weather had somehow saved them. Where they got their weapons and why they were nearby were questions for another day.

"I suggest you all leave our territory; you've overstayed your welcome." Anya commanded down to the group.

Clarke spoke out, "We are trying Anya, but their are more survivors and we need to find them. We just need time."

Anya seemed to survey their group, a scowl about her lips, "I'll try to buy you some time, but no promises. My people are likely out for blood since you killed Tristan."

"Thank you," Clarke called back. Finn was surprised that Anya might assist them yet again and he couldn't help but wonder if everything might have been different if they could have just talked that day on the bridge. 

"One more thing," movement was heard from the left side of the group and then a person was shoved into their midst, "We found some of your trash."

The person fell to the ground crying out in pain. "John?" Finn heard from beside him as an older woman pushed forward.

Swinging his head back to look over at the person on the ground, Finn realized that it was John Murphy who had been returned to them. It looked as if he'd been tortured and blood seemed to still trickle from a wound in his leg.

Finn assumed it was Murphy's mother that had rushed over to him and pulled him up and into her embrace. Murphy hugged the woman saying "Mom," as he looked over at everyone staring at them. Murphy's gaze fell on Bellamy and Finn saw a look of pure evil. 

Finn turned back to gauge Anya's reaction, but she was gone.


	10. Teenagers Again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I developed new characters for this chapter - Sara, Vander, Eva, Anna, Dinesh, Dr. Ackermann, unnamed Ark Survivors

All Bellamy could see at this moment was the evil blackness shining back at him from Murphy's eyes. He'd seen that same look the day Murphy had attempted to hang him, but was still surprised that such hatred lived in the person he once called a friend. Had this evil always been there or had they driven Murphy to this moment? Bellamy wondered trying to stop the guilt from rising within him for what had happened. After all, they had given Murphy a second chance and because of it they had almost lost their lives. What was the old saying, 'Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me.' Not again, Bellamy vowed to himself, this time allowing his rage to built within him.

Clenching his fists, he began to take a step toward the pair hugging in front of him, planning to rip Murphy from his mother's arms and at the very least beat him senseless. His murderous intentions must have been obvious for he felt a hand grasp his arm halting his progress. He looked down at it recognizing Clarke's long slender fingers and the watch she always wore and immediately a sense of calm flowed through him bringing his rage to just a simmer. 

He glanced up at her face in askance, seeing her mouth 'Not now' as a warning to him to back down. Why should he? he thought, for time and time again she'd stayed his hand with Murphy and the cost to their group had been high. His rage simmered a little higher, but before it could be brought back to life, the silence that had fallen over the survivors when Murphy had been thrown into their midst was broken when Murphy's mother asked, "What happened to my son?"

"We don't know what happened to your son. He ran away a few days ago right before we battled for our lives with the very people that just saved us," Clarke responded in a strong voice next to Bellamy. The woman turned around to look at her continuing to hug her son close. Having gained her attention Clarke continued, "Your son was banished for his actions in our camp, but we gave him a second chance which he threw away when he killed two people and attempted to kill two others. He is dangerous and must be held accountable for his crimes."

The fierce look the woman threw at them spoke volumes; she didn't like what she'd heard and she'd protect her son at all costs. Bellamy knew Murphy's mother, Sara, well for they lived near each other on the Ark. She was known to traffic in underground drugs and alcohol, but had never been caught, either out of fear of retribution or the bribes she paid to people to look away. It had been her husband's business, which she had taken over when he was floated, and it was rumored that she ran it with an iron hand.

"I'm sure my son was just defending himself. I'm not sure what he might have done to get himself banished, but if you willingly gave him a second chance, it couldn't have been that bad."

Murphy straightened himself upon hearing his mother's defense, and radiating a look of superiority, he stated in a clear voice for all to hear, "They hung me from a tree for a crime committed by someone else and then banished me when I sought my own justice."

"Is this true?" Sara questioned with outrage looking back and forth between Clarke and Bellamy.

Glancing down at Clarke, Bellamy saw the color drain from her face as she seemed to realize that the conversation was spiraling out of control. Knowing she needed to be rescued, Bellamy responded, "There isn't time for this discussion. The Reapers could return at any second and this time I don't think Anya will be around to stop them." Sara's eyes flashed toward him, "Besides night is falling and we could lose our way in the dark if we don't get on the trail now." 

The group seemed to hold a collective breath, until Sara looked back at Clarke and said, "This conversation is not over."

Bellamy saw Clarke's lips press into a frown before she gave Sara a curt nod, "Agreed, but you're responsible for him until we can rule on his crimes, and if one more incident occurs, there will be no mercy."

"And when we get back to camp, he stays in one of the tents away from everyone," Bellamy declared.

"Fine," Sara shrugged, "What about his leg? He clearly needs medical attention."

Clarke grabbed out a rag from her pack and kneeled down in front of Murphy. She wrapped the rag around his wound and tied it tight causing Murphy to yelp in pain and Bellamy bit back a smile; Clarke was pissed. "That should stop the flow of blood until we have time to examine the wound."

. . .

Clarke stood off to the side of the dropship looking over at the campfire where a variety of delinquents and Ark Survivors sat and stood remembering the dead. They talked in boisterous voices and laughter rang throughout the site although it held no joy. Clarke felt weary. The day had been long -- finding the Ark Survivors, treating the injured, the confrontation with the Reapers, and now the power struggle between Vander and some of the Ark Survivors and her and Bellamy.

Once they had gotten back to camp, Clarke had directed the injured into the dropship and asked Harper and Monty to get them settled while she along with Bellamy showed Vander and a few others the camp. They started at the fence line where Vander informed them that it was built incorrectly to withstand any sort of attack, followed by a criticism of where they had stored the weapons, and even a complaint about the food supply. If Bellamy hadn't been by her side, she would have stormed off long before she did. For once, he'd been the calm one answering each question and then directing delinquents to resolve whatever issue was pointed out.

She'd finally excused herself saying that she needed to check on the injured, and when Bellamy had sent someone to get her a little while later, she ducked out of sight. She had always known that when they were joined by the others from the Ark that things would change, that she'd no longer be the leader of their group, but rather than face it head on as she had faced most change, she hid trying to avoid it.

Even now, an hour later, she stayed to the shadows and hoped that the night passed quickly. Squinting off into the darkness, she thought that she saw another person also avoiding the crowd and headed over to see who it might be.

Walking carefully, glancing back at the campfire to make sure everyone was still occupied, she approached the fence line and looked up. Finn was perched on top and was smiling down at her, "Hey," he greeted softly.

"Hey -- didn't feel like joining the group?"

Finn shook his head looking over at the campfire observing the people there, "And yourself?"

"Feeling kind of lost, to be honest," Clarke confessed pushing her hands into her jacket pockets.

"Yeah, it is hard to know what to expect next," Finn replied dropping down beside her. He looked back at the campfire and Clarke saw a frown grace his lips before he asked, "Do you think they want us to go back to being teenagers?"

Clarke snorted, "Seems that way."

Seeing a spark in his eye, he turned toward her with a grin and said, "Then that is what we should do."

"Be teenagers?" Clarke asked in confusion.

"At least for tonight -- tomorrow we can fight for the respect we've already earned."

Clarke frowned unsure what he meant by being a teenager after all she'd never had the opportunity to be one. Finn reached out touching her arm to gain her attention saying, "Stay here - Promise me."

"I promise," she replied tentatively. 

Watching Finn walk over to his pack, she had a moment of doubt about shirking her duties until she heard Vander speaking to everyone about their 'new future' and what to expect. Surely whatever Finn was planning was better than thinking about that.

"Come on," Finn grabbed her sleeve as he walked by going over to the fence and removing one of the boards so they could slip through. 

Leaving the camp was not what she had expected, "Finn this is dangerous."

"It will always be dangerous, but at some point you've got to live a little," his eyes seemed to dare her to go. "You once told me that you could be fun, remember?" 

Clarke nodded and then followed him through the opening. His steps were sure and he seemed to brim with excitement the farther they got from camp; it reminded Clarke of the first few days they were on Earth.

They walked for some time before Finn stopped in front of a cave opening and reached inside his pack pulling out a candle that he must have taken from the underground shelter he had found. He struck a match and lit the candle then he reached his hand out to her.

She couldn't help but pause looking at his outstretched hand, feeling for a moment the pain of his betrayal, but this time the pain was a little less. She took his hand, feeling the warmth of his fingers close around it and he smiled in a carefree way that she hadn't seen in some time. A lock of his hair had fallen over his face and in that moment, Clarke decided to let it all go. 

He lead her into the cave, which wasn't as dark as Clarke expected, and instead it seemed to glow with a warm pink color. The candle flickered around revealing stalactites and beautiful smooth rock formations which Clarke marveled at. Within a few yards, Finn stopped pulling her forward, and she noticed that in front of them stood a slightly raised pool of water, which had a rotten smell to it and seemed a bit murky. She could hear water bubbling and assumed some underground spring feed the pool. 

Looking over at Finn in confusion, he announced, "It's a hot spring."

"A hot spring?"

"Yeah - its supposed to ease your aches and pains to help you relax and clear your mind."

"I don't know Finn. We don't know what might be in it or even if the water itself is safe," Clarke responded biting on her bottom lip. 

"We're being teenagers tonight remember. Teenagers would run off to skinny dip in a pool, don't you think? They'd have a little fun and wouldn't think about the consequences."

"Skinny dip?" Clarke squeaked.

"I promise I won't look," Finn crossed his heart in mock sincerity.

Clarke scoffed knowing that was unlikely and wondered at his motives. She sighed loudly and then remembered that she'd promised to try to experience something new. "Fine, but turn your back and I'll get in first."

Finn turned around with a mischievous grin prompting her to say, "No peeking."

He laughingly replied, "As long as you know that I don't have the same rules when it is my turn to undress."

Clarke smiled at the thought of watching him undress as she removed her jacket, shirt, pants, socks and other underclothes. She dipped her toe into the water and found it hot, but not too hot that she couldn't get in. "Are you sure there is nothing in here?"

"Yes -- I tried it out when I first found it and nothing attacked me. It also isn't very deep," Finn reassured her. 

Clarke stepped all the way in and found him to be correct as the water only came to her waist. She sunk down and used the side of the pool to hold herself up letting her feet rise up slightly. 

"I'm in," she called out, her voice unusually shy.

She watched Finn remove his jacket and shirt, but when he reached to take off his pants, she looked away. She was all too aware of his body and how it felt next to hers, and her heart wished for a return to that moment when they were in the underground shelter: before Raven, the trouble with the Grounders, the Reapers, and everything else. She pushed the wish away.

Hearing his splash, she turned around to see him submerged and holding onto the side as well. In his hand he held a tin cup, which he was holding out to her, "Monty's moonshine."

Clarke raised an eyebrow, "Skinny dipping and alcohol?"

"I warned you that we were having the full teenage experience," he responded with a smirk and gleam in his eye.

What the hell, Clarke thought, taking the cup and gulping down a few swallows. She handed it back to Finn and watched as he drank some as well. He closed his eyes leaning his neck against the side of the pool. "This is nice."

Looking around the cave in the candle light, feeling the warmth of the pool as well as the warmth from the alcohol, Clarke was surprised to find herself thinking the same thing.

"You've used the pool before?"

"Once."

"Did you bring anyone else here?" Clarke asked wishing there wasn't a slight bit of jealously in her question.

Finn cracked open one of his eyes, "No, but I had planned to bring you here until things all went to hell."

His response brought a flush of warmth to her face, "You weren't going to share with the others?" 

Shrugging his shoulders Finn confessed, "I hadn't thought about it."

Silence fell between them for a few minutes as Clarke wondered what they could talk about, but Finn saved her by asking, "Do you want to talk about what happened at Mount Weather?"

At first, Clarke wasn't sure there was anything to share, as she had told both Finn and Bellamy some of the things that had happened over those three days, but seeing his genuine interest as he looked over at her from across the pool, she felt a need to unburden herself. 

The words seemed to flow out of her as she related her feelings that first day, the surprise at seeing Monty, the conversation with Dr Ackermann, the relief upon hearing Raven's voice, and finally the shock she'd felt both seeing him in the hall and when the orderly came flying into her room. Finn seemed to listen attentively, asking questions or making appropriate comments and before too long they were sharing other stories, both of times on the Ark as well as some of their memories on Earth. They passed the Moonshine between the two of them until it was gone and Clarke felt more relaxed than she had in her entire life.

The next thing she remembered was Finn shaking her awake as she must have dozed off. He'd taken the time to get out of the pool and dress himself and was now crouched beside her brushing the hair off her cheek as he softly said, "It's getting late. I'll give you some privacy."

He set a blanket down on the ground next to her arm and stood walking toward the entrance, "Don't forget to bring the candle."

"Finn," she called out halting his progress. He turned back to look at her, a question in his eye, and she felt a rush of feelings once again flood her heart, "Thanks for this."

Nodding at her, he responded, "I enjoy seeing you happy," he then pushed through the brushes at the entrance and was gone.

. . .

Finn heard the bushes behind him rustle and knew that Clarke was coming out. It had taken her longer than he expected, but he didn't mind waiting as he was starting to enjoy time to himself. He loved gazing up at the night sky, knowing that he was free to roam the woods and breathe in the fresh air instead of being trapped in a metal box high above the Earth. 

"Ready to go," she asked still using the blanket to dry her curls.

He smiled at her, enjoying the flushed look on her face from the warm water and remembering how her skin had glowed in the light of the cave when he'd peeked over at her getting undressed earlier, "I guess we should since they have probably created 3 or 4 more rules since we've been gone."

"Probably," Clarke grinned, "Vander always loved rules."

Picking up his pack, he took the candle and blanket from Clarke and placed them inside. He swung the pack over onto his back, picked up some other items beside him, and started the trek back to camp with Clark walking at his side, "How do you know him?"

"He worked closely with Kane who worked with both my mom and dad. We were introduced a time or two, but I don't know much more about him other than he excelled in the guard."

"Ah - likely because he loves rules," Finn jested and Clarke laughed. They continued the easy banter back and forth until Monty ran straight into them just outside the camp. 

Out of breath, he stammered, "Bellamy has been looking for you two."

"We were out looking for dinner," Finn easily replied holding up two possums. He saw Clarke's surprised look from the corner of his eye and hoped that she'd go along with his deception. He'd lucked upon the two creatures while waiting for Clarke and since he'd brought along his crossbow, which he'd been practicing with when no one else was around, he pulled it out and shot first one and then the other. 

"Can you eat those?" Monty asked a little concerned as he looked at the ugly creatures. 

"I hope so," Finn shrugged seeing the possums for the first time in the light from the camp. He looked over at Clarke for confirmation, but she just returned his look with the same question. 

"You should hurry -- Bellamy was getting upset that the two of you had disappeared from the camp." Finn handed the animals to Monty and then trotted off with Clarke to find Bellamy. 

Bellamy was in his tent with Miller, Eva, Raven, Vander and two other Ark Survivors whose names were unknown to Finn. "Where have you two been?" Bellamy barked at them.

"Out hunting," Finn shot back, not appreciating the stern look Bellamy tossed at him nor the hurt look from Raven. They hadn't been doing anything to be ashamed of and they didn't owe anyone an explanation. 

Clarke cleared her throat beside him and asked, "What is going on?"

"We're trying to finalize our plans for tomorrow," Bellamy supplied in exasperation.

On a makeshift table in front of them was a map laid out, where Bellamy had stations a few markers in several places seemingly outlining a plan. Finn sensed that there might have been arguing before they arrived as the tension in the tent was palatable.

"The plan is the same," Clarke confirmed. "The four of us," she gestured at Bellamy, Raven, Finn and herself, "along with Monty, Jasper, and Fox will go out and look for the rest of the survivors. Eva, Miller, and Vander will take everyone else to the coast and meet up with Octavia and Lincoln." Finn saw Clarke look directly at Vander saying, "You heard Anya warn that we need to leave their territory and if a big group of us leave tomorrow, it would show that we took the warning seriously."

Finn saw Bellamy cross his arms in satisfaction likely because Clarke confirmed the plan Bellamy had outlined. Finn doubted that Clarke's confirmation would sway Vander's opinion of their plan, but one could hope.

"We're not sending a group of teenagers out to look for survivors. We owe it to your parents to keep you safe," Vander lectured with a sweep of his hand. Stepping closely to the map, he pondered the area before him and continued, "A few of us will go out to survey this area where you think the survivors crashed while the rest of you stay here and defend the camp with some of the guards." Vander looked up at his two companions as if to ask for confirmation of his plan, which they gave with a nod of their heads.

"No," Clarke's firm voice rang out surprising Vander who swiveled his head to look at her. Finn fought back a smile as he guessed that she had decided to fight for her power rather than let it go so easily and hoped that it was their time away that had rejuvenated her. "We are the ones that have survived down here for the past few weeks and we're going to rescue the others." Pointing at Vander she said, "You are not familiar with this area or the dangers out there and sending a group of newcomers to rescue the others would surely get you all killed. We know what it takes to survive." 

Vander's mouth opened as if to argue with Clarke, but he was cut off by Bellamy's response, "Our plan really is your only option. I would have thought you would have realized this after what happened today."

Bellamy held a firm stance when Vander locked eyes with him and straightened. The anger rose between the two of them as it had all day and now they stood toe to toe, the only sound in the tent being their breathing. Miller, Raven, and Eva stepped closely to Bellamy as did Clarke which was when Finn guessed that Vander realized that he was overruled by the sheer resolution from their group and his shoulders dropped slightly in defeat.

Before surrendering, Vander ground out through clenched teeth at Bellamy, "Enjoy this moment, for soon enough you will no longer be in charge." He stormed out of the room with his two followers close on his heels. 

The tension lowered noticeably as everyone looked around at each other. Bellamy looked directly at each of them before asking, "We are good with this plan, right?"

Heads nodded in agreement and Miller slapped Bellamy on his shoulder in support and then the two fell into a quiet conversation. Finn glanced around at everyone in the room marveling at how far they had come in a few short weeks. When his eyes landed on Eva, he stepped closer to her to ask, "Are you sure you are okay with this? It changes the entire dynamic of the group you are leading?" 

All eyes turned Eva's way upon hearing Finn's question and she smiled in assurance, "I've dealt with people like Vander all my life. I think I can handle him for a few days."

"I'm sorry Eva. I really didn't warn you what you were getting yourself into when you agreed to help us that day," Finn smiled at her sadly. 

She reciprocated his smile saying, "It's actually not as bad as I imagined. I've heard scary stories all my life of what it was like outside of Mount Weather - radiation that would poison you, mutated animals, Grounders that wanted you dead, but what I saw today was beauty in the wildness. If we are being honest with ourselves, there are dangerous people in every community. "

"We'll see if you still feel that way in a week," Bellamy retorted followed by Raven slapping his arm.

Without acknowledging Bellamy's response, Finn then asked, "One other thing has been bothering me and it never seemed like the right time to ask, but what did Dinesh mean about Anna being the future?"

Eva responded back with a slight blush, "He wasn't talking about Anna?" 

"Then what did he mean?" this time Clarke asked the question.

"I'm pregnant," Eva admitted with a slight curving of her lips.


	11. The Search for Others

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I developed new characters for this chapter - Vander, Eva, Anna, Sara, Eileen, David, Cooper, Steve, Henry, Jenner, Andrei, unnamed Ark Survivors, unnamed Scientists

"Pregnant?" Bellamy blurted in surprise before he could stop himself. Over the last two days, he thought he'd gotten to know Eva quite well, perhaps drawn to her because she had a sister. She was the first person he'd ever met who had a sibling and therefore knew what it was like to have a connection to another person that wasn't romantic in nature or a parent. They had spent some time over the past two days sharing stories about their sisters and it had helped ease the ache of missing Octavia. Eva had also agreed to keep an eye on Octavia should Eva meet up with her on the coast.

Eva looked over at him, a blush gracing her cheeks once again, before replying, "Yes, I'm having a baby in a little less than seven months."

Their eyes held and Bellamy thought he saw a flash of apology when he heard Finn ask, "Then why come with us? Surely you would have been safer at Mount Weather?" 

Sighing, Eva broke eye contact and turned back to look at Finn, "It is because of the baby that I knew I had to run. I couldn't let this happen to my sister."

"The baby wasn't your choice?" Raven questioned.

"I wasn't raped, if that is what you're wondering." Eva looked around at all of them, "But they made it clear that they were not asking for my consent. Everyone living in Mount Weather is expected to willingly participate in any activities that might improve our chances of survival."

"The baby was created in a lab," Bellamy stated remembering what Henry had shared the night before they had launched their rescue about Mount Weather and the experiments they were conducting.

Eva began to slowly nod her head as she confirmed, "We've always had difficulty having children. I assumed our scientists were researching solutions to increase fertility and it wasn't until I was pregnant that I learned the truth. I don't know what this baby will be, but I wasn't going to let them do anything more to it or myself, and most especially my sister."

"What the baby will be?" Raven croaked with some horror in her eyes. Bellamy looked around and could see that the others were equally terrified at her response.

"I didn't mean it wouldn't be human," Eva assured them, "But the baby's genes have been manipulated and who knows what that might mean."

"Henry told us that they were combining the DNA from Grounders with DNA from those at Mount Weather," Finn supplied.

"Yes, I found out the same thing, but they went even further splicing in genes that they thought might advance our evolution."

"Have they been successful in creating any children?" Clarke asked.

Eva shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know."

Bellamy cleared his throat, "This changes everything. I think Eva should go with us to search for the other Ark Survivors. She needs to be near someone with medical knowledge."

Seeing Clarke's head swing his way and the frown that formed between her eyes, he could only assume that Clarke disagreed with his new plan. He deliberately didn't look her way. 

"I agree with Bellamy," Finn blurted, drowning out any protest from the others.

"Have you both lost your minds?" Raven exclaimed. "A pregnant woman and a child on a trek to find survivors deep in hostile territory isn't a plan. It's a suicide mission."

"We can watch over them," Bellamy countered.

Clarke cut in saying, "The point of us forming a small group is to be able to move quickly to find the survivors before the Grounders do without calling attention to ourselves."

Bellamy felt annoyance rushing over him as once again Clarke had to disagree with him. He knew it wasn't a well thought out plan, but with a little time he was sure that they could find a way to keep Eva and her sister safe yet still search for the Ark Survivors.

Seeming to read his thoughts, he heard Clarke say, "We don't have time for new plans; It is late and we still need to do something about Murphy."

Turning now to look at Clarke, Bellamy clenched his jaw holding back the anger he actually wanted to display. For a brief time, Bellamy had forgotten about Murphy, but now he had to face the harsh reality that time was not on their side and there were more pressing concerns than Eva's situation. If they had only dealt with Murphy earlier, then perhaps he'd have time to think of a new plan.

"We should have solved the Murphy problem hours ago, but you were no where to be found," Bellamy reminded Clarke letting loose some of his anger.

"I needed to clear my head and get some distance from this place," Clarke shot back in defense.

"Is it clear now?" Bellamy sneered his eyes widening slightly.

"Yes," Clarke ground out with her own anger before sarcastically saying, "Thanks for asking."

Before the two could continue, Eva shouted, "Enough! It is my life and I make my own decisions and I say we stick with the original plan." All eyes had swung toward her when she cried out and Eva paused looking around daring any one of them to disagree. When no one responded, she continued, "Good - it is settled. I'm going to check on Anna and then get some sleep." Eva stepped around Finn and pushed the tent flap up never looking back. 

Bellamy felt the need to go after her; to try once more to get her to stay with them, but instead he placed his hands on the table to keep himself from following. 

"We need to let this go," Bellamy heard Clarke tell them. "As Eva has reminded us, she has made her decision and we have other problems to solve." 

Realizing that he was unlikely to get anyone to agree to a new plan, Bellamy asked the room in general, "Where is Murphy now?" 

"In the dropship with his Mother, Harper, and a couple of the other gunners," Jasper supplied having slipped into the tent some time back.

Finn spoke up then asking, "What are you thinking we should do?"

"I don't know, but we can't pretend that he didn't kill two people," Bellamy said with a shrug of his shoulders, the anger inside of him beginning to recede. "I doubt his need for revenge has lessened either, so he'll still be out for all of us."

Clarke cut in declaring, "We hold him accountable. We have many witnesses to his crimes: Jasper saw him kill Myles, most of the delinquents know Murphy first held Jasper and then Bellamy hostage, and finally Jasper saw Bellamy hanging from a noose. We present the evidence and let the others decide on his guilt."

"And his mother? What do we do when she protests?" Bellamy warned.

"We let the others deal with her, or better yet, if she doesn't like the outcome, she can go out on her own."

"She's not someone to trifle with Clarke. Her reputation for revenge is well known and she will likely go to great links to protect her son," Bellamy cautioned.

Throwing up her hands, Clarke acknowledged, "I don't have a good answer Bellamy. I can only hope that Vander can find a way to deal with her."

Feeling Clarke's frustration, Bellamy's hand rose to cover his mouth as he pondered other possible solutions. Perhaps the best solution was to actually delay their search for the other survivors and use the light of day to deal with Murphy and further address the Eva situation. He immediately pushed this idea away knowing that none of them were likely to agree, after all Clarke's mother was out there as well as many other parents of the delinquents. 

With no other ideas coming to mind nor did anyone else volunteer a solution, he muttered, "Let's get this over with," and then turned to ask Finn and Raven to find Vander followed by instructions to Jasper and Miller to gather some of the delinquents to serve as judge or witness. 

Once everyone but Clarke had departed, he reached into a bag at his feet and searched around among the weapons before pulling out a handgun and passing it to her. "You may need this if anything gets out of hand."

Seeing Clarke waver, he reached out taking her hand and pressing the gun into it. His eyes locked on hers as he whispered, "I'm hoping you don't have to use it." He squeezed her hand before letting go and leaning back down, retrieved a weapon for himself.

"So do I," he heard Clarke mutter. He checked his weapon for bullets and then tucked it into his pant's waistband. They then headed out of the tent and over to the dropship. 

. . .

Clarke and Bellamy walked with purpose toward the dropship each lost in their own thoughts, but determined to address the situation head on. Clarke didn't even bother to look around the campsite to see who might be watching, her mind instead focused on the weapon she placed inside her jacket. Would she have to use it? she wondered.

Before they could enter the dropship, they were intercepted by Vander who called out, "What is going on?" as he marched up to them. Finn and Raven were trotting up right behind him and Clarke assumed that they had tried to explain, but he hadn't listened. 

"John Murphy must be held accountable for his crimes and since we need to depart in the morning, his trial will be held tonight," Clarke announced.

"It's late -- holding judgement over him in the dead of night does't seem like justice," Vander noted.

"He'll have every opportunity to defend himself and it will not be us ruling on his fate. We are going to have you and some others hear the evidence, listen to his side, and weigh on his guilt, but it will be done tonight." Clarke stood her ground and by this time many others had joined their circle and were nodding their heads in agreement with Clarke's declaration.

Vander stood in thought for a few minutes before he nodded once saying, "That seems fair. We'll use a panel of five members: myself, Steve, Cooper, David, and Elieen."

The four people that Vander had named were standing among those surrounding them. Clarke didn't know the four people he named well, but thought that at least two of them would listen carefully to the evidence. Elieen was Monty's mom and hadn't balked at following their lead and David had been the man who Clarke fought with about his wife's condition, but in the end he had listened to reason. Steve and Cooper were the wild cards as they were part of Vander's inner circle. Feeling Bellamy stiffen beside her, she knew that he too wanted to protest some of the panel members, but Clarke didn't think they had many options at this point. 

"Alright, five members on the panel and Bellamy and I will present the evidence with most of those here serving as witnesses." Taking a breath to calm her nerves she said, "Let's get John Murphy out here." 

Jasper volunteered to get Murphy and his mother Sara from inside the dropship while the others looked to Clarke for further direction.

Wondering where the best place might be to hold the trial, Clarke looked around the camp and saw that the fire had burned low and most of the delinquents and a few of the survivors were asleep. She was glad that the noise from their group hadn't woken the others, and even though it might be tight, having the trial inside the dropship might be the best option. Just as she was about to recommend that they all move inside instead of bringing Murphy out, Jasper shouted to Bellamy.

Bellamy shot up the ramp with all the others close on his heels and threw the tarp covering the door aside. Jasper stood near the ladder, a look of disbelieve on his face, "Both of them are gone."

"Gone?" Bellamy roared walking over to Jasper.

"I've looked around the entire dropship and they are not here. I found one of the gunners who had been guarding them knocked out," Jasper gestured to the corner where a gunner lay propped against the wall. "I don't know where Harper and the others are."

Concern marked Bellamy's face as he started back toward the entrance, only to encounter Harper as she entered carrying a pack and talking to another gunner. Seeing everyone looking at her she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Why weren't you guarding Murphy?" Bellamy hissed.

Harper took a slight step back before saying, "Sara asked me to grab her bag. She wanted to stay with her son."

"And it took two of you to retrieve it?"

"No, Jenner went to get them food," Harper explained pointing to the other gunner standing next to her.

Clarke couldn't believe it; It seemed likely that either Murphy's mother or Murphy himself must have sensed the time was drawing near for them to decide on his fate, and knowing that he would be found guilty, had decided to run. Clarke heard Bellamy curse and then order everyone to search the camp to make sure that they weren't hiding nearby.

As the dropship began to empty, Clarke headed over to look at the gunner that was knocked out. She hoped that he only had a slight head wound and wouldn't be another causality of Murphy's evil. Reaching his side, she squat down beside him noting that his breath was steady and there was a large lump on his head, but no blood. During her inspection, he moaned and Clarke felt sure that he would be fine by morning. 

Clarke heard Bellamy kick over a stool behind her and she looked back to see that everyone except Bellamy, Raven, Finn, and Vander were gone. Bellamy had been wound tight all night, likely from the stress of having the other Ark survivors constantly challenging him for power, and now he unleashed his frustration on the few items left standing in the dropship. 

She felt weariness fall over her as she stood and looked at the destruction he had created in just a few minutes. He now stood panting in the middle of the room, staring at the ground with his fists clenched tight. Speaking loudly to draw everyone's attention, Clarke informed them, "Andrei will be fine by morning; Might have a slight concussion, but nothing more serious."

The tension is Bellamy's stance released upon hearing Clarke's diagnosis and he looked over at the gunner who Clarke had made more comfortable. A slight smile of relief crossed his lips, before he stated with a frown, "We should have dealt with Murphy when we first returned."

Clarke nodded walking toward the group, "But we didn't and at the time it seemed secondary to getting everyone settled. We can't change that decision, and it's too late to find them tonight if they left the camp. It is also doubtful that we'd find them in the morning, as they'll likely be well away from here."

"We let them go?" Bellamy responded in outrage.

Shrugging Clarke brushed her fingers through her hair, "If they have already left the camp walls, we have little choice but to let them go and hope they don't follow either of our groups."

"If I ever see him again, I'll kill him," Bellamy snapped brushing past all of them and out into the night. 

"What happened between those two?" Vander asked Clarke. 

"A mistaken accusation that lead to Murphy almost losing his life. In revenge, he killed two people and tried to kill two others; Bellamy was one of the others and it cut deep as they had been close friends." 

"It is much easier to hate someone if you loved them first," Vander replied in thought.

Clarke couldn't disagree.

. . .

Crouching low in some brush, Finn signaled to Clarke to sneak around to the other side of the bushes. After a long day searching for other possible survivors from the Ark and finding no one, their spirits had been quite low until Finn had spotted some wild boar tracks. If they could catch the boar, they would be eating well that night.

Walking slowly parallel to each other, Finn was trying to determine where the boar was hiding when he heard a noise from up ahead. They both moved quietly toward it just in time to see two boars run off. Finn shouted to Clarke, who speed up, a spear held at the ready in her hand and the two of them jumped over bushes and ran through mud on their pursuit of the animals. It was a crazy race and before too long they were shouting instructions to each other and laughing at the wildness of it all. 

Finn was in hot pursuit of one animal while Clarke had the other in sight when suddenly the animals crossed paths and went in opposite directions causing Finn and Clarke to run into each other. Clarke threw her spear just moments before they collided, catching one of the boars in the leg and Finn caught Clarke around the waist as they both slipped in the mud and then the two of them rolled with Clarke landing on top. Mud dripped from her hair and nose, her eyes danced with laughter, and Finn could only stare up into her face even as the mud settled in his jeans. 

When she realized that he was not laughing anymore, she looked down at him with a grin. He smiled back and as their breaths mingled, he couldn't resist the urge to reach up for a kiss. Their lips touched and he heard her sigh as they sank into a deep kiss. Just as his hand reached up to pull her tighter, he heard Bellamy shout out, "What are you two doing?"

Clarke jumped and was about to pull away from him, but he held her still for a second whispering, "He can't see us."

He saw Clarke look around and notice that they were surrounded by bushes validating Finn's observation that it was unlikely that Bellamy was referring to the kiss when he asked what they were doing. She pulled away, stood up, and began to wipe off the mud and debris looking around for Bellamy. Finn dropped his head back into the mud in exasperation before turning and pushing to his feet. 

Bellamy was standing across the woods from them with Raven at his side and both Finn and Clarke headed over toward them. Bellamy was holding a spear dripping with blood and one of the boars they had been pursuing lay at his feet. "We heard the two of you from across the woods and thought something bad had happened," he stated in disgust. "Raven and I ran as fast as we could searching for the two of you only to see you both fall into the mud and the boar getting away. Luckily I was close enough to get him or else you might have cost us a good meal."

"Clarke hit him," Finn recalled looking down at the boar which still had Clarke's spear it its thigh. "He wouldn't have gotten far."

"How many people or other animals do you think you alerted in the process?" Bellamy growled at him. "I still don't understand what you two were doing making all that noise."

Finn noticed the blush on Clarke's face and responded, "We got caught up in the chase. We forgot where we were."

"We can't afford to forget Finn," Bellamy reminded. Finn frowned looking down at the boar; Bellamy was right of course, but he didn't regret it.

Clarke reached down to pull out her spear saying, "It is getting late and we need to regroup with the others as well as get away from here since the blood might attract predators."

What they needed was a large branch that they could use to tie the boar to and make it easier to carry, Finn thought. It was a good size animal and if they were lucky they might even be able to smoke some of the meat for the trek. Seeing something they could use a few feet off, Finn headed over to retrieve it. As he grabbed it, he looked up and noticed what looked like a building only a few feet away in some trees. 

He dropped into a crouch wondering if the building might be occupied when he noticed other buildings as well. He could hear the others talking behind him, but he wasn't sure how to get their attention without calling attention to the group of them in general. He slowly started to walk back, trying to minimize his movements until he could hiss, "There are some buildings over there."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Clarke, Raven, and Bellamy's heads swivel in his direction. Having gained their attention, he started forward towards the buildings planning to investigate. He felt them move up behind him and the four of them carefully moved toward the first structure that stood a few yards away from the edge of the woods.

Reaching the edge of the treeline, they noticed that the buildings were actually part of a town. They didn't see any movement nor hear any noise, but still they keep to the trees listening attentively. "I think we need to check it out?" Finn whispered.

He saw Bellamy nod while Clarke shook her head no, "We don't know who or what might be living there."

"Which is why we should investigate; Maybe they would be willing to help us." Finn wondered.

He saw worry flash across Clarke's brow as she looked over at the town in front of them, "It could be occupied by Grounders."

"We stay to the shadows and at the first sign of people, we head back here," Bellamy suggested. "Finn is right. We need to know if people live here."

Not waiting for Clarke's consent, Finn crept out jogging over to the side of the building and peering down what looked like an alleyway. He saw Bellamy behind him followed by Raven and then Clarke. They lined up along the wall next to him. "See anything," Bellamy asked. Finn shook his head. He continued to train his eyes on the alleyway and out to what looked like a street. In the alleyway, there were some metal scraps intertwined with overgrown brush and further down he saw a street with some crumbled buildings and a large pole which he could only assume must have been a light pole that had fallen across the road. 

"I don't think there is anyone here," he informed the others with some regret. "It looks abandoned."

Bellamy stepped around him standing for a few seconds at the entrance to the alleyway. When nothing moved, Finn watched him begin to walk down the alley keeping close to the wall and followed him. When Bellamy reached the street, he flattened against the building on the right carefully looking first across the street and then around the corner. From his position beside Bellamy, Finn could see more evidence of abandoned buildings although a few stood offering some shelter. 

"Let's split up and look around; It might be a good place to camp for the night," Bellamy commanded.

Finn saw Bellamy gesture to Clarke to follow him, and although he wanted to protest, he didn't want to hurt Raven's feelings or embarrass Clarke so instead he headed in the opposite direction with Raven next to him. The town was not large, but several brick buildings still stood and the remains of a road were visible. 

As Finn and Raven walked down the crumbling sidewalk, they peered into a few of the buildings lining the street. Clearly the town had been spared a direct attack during the war, as it didn't show any evidence of destruction, and only neglect plagued the streets. In various places along the road, stood the remains of rusted out vehicles, most fallen apart and overgrown with weeds. Finn's hope dropped as it seemed all, but certain this town was abandoned. 

"Look," Raven shouted at him pointing to a larger complex in the distance. "It looks like there might be military vehicles around that building." 

She headed off toward the structure with Finn in pursuit. He could see ahead of them stood a fence and inside the fence where some vehicles and several structures. Although Raven had sounded sure about the type of vehicles near the buildings, to Finn they looked a lot like those they had passed on the street. 

Raven reached the fence and climbed over it before Finn could stop her leaving him no choice but to follow. He scrambling over and took off at a trot to catch up. As they drew nearer, he noticed that there were several buildings grouped together with a variety of rusted out vehicles of different types and size in the area near the center of the complex.

They reached the first vehicle and both of them crouched down to rest and look around. Nothing moved near the buildings and the growth around the area was undisturbed. "I see some windows; Maybe we can peer inside," Raven was pointing at the nearest building in front of them.

Marveling at the fact that the window glass still seemed to be intact, Finn noticed that it was likely due to either the window being boarded up from the inside or something heavy was covering them giving them additional support. 

Finn crept out heading to the first building and flattened himself against the wall, once again holding his breath, waiting to see if anything would react to their presence. When silence greeted them, he moved along the wall to the window and tried to peer in. As he thought, it seemed to be covered with a gray plastic, "It's covered."

Raven cursed before saying, "Let's try around the side and look for a door."

Finn kept to the wall and when he reached the corner, carefully leaned around. Seeing nothing, he headed down the side of the building and toward a door he noticed near the end of the wall. When they arrived at the door, he tried pulling at the handle, which broke off in his hand, while the door itself remained shut. He leaned down to look at the handle mechanism wondering if he could pick it. 

"I have a screwdriver," Raven announced dropping her pack on the ground and searching through it. Within seconds, she found the tool and handed it to him which he used to fiddle with the lock and to his surprise he heard a click and it swung open. "We're in."

The door squeaked on its hinges as it opened and if anyone was inside, they surely would have been alerted to their presence. In front of them was a hallway, which ended in a closed door, while to the left was another hallway leading to some side rooms. "I'll take the door in front of us. You want to check out those rooms?" Finn asked Raven pointing down the hall. 

Raven nodded before carefully walking down the hall; Finn headed straight. He reached the door and pushed on the flex handle, which opened revealing a Gym. But this Gym had been converted to a shelter with cots scattered throughout and boxes of supplies lining one wall. The tables off to the side were covered in layers of dust and much of the wood was rotting. The entire place was musty, but otherwise untouched and it didn't appear that anyone had ever used it as a shelter. 

"Finn - come look at this," he heard Raven call.

Turning he headed back to the other hallway and upon reaching the first door, he saw Raven smiling from the doorway. "Its a locker room and it has showers." Looking past her, he saw the showers with their crumbling tiles and doubted that there was any running water. 

"Do they work?" he asked.

She pushed through the door stepping over dirt and debris and entered the first shower stall. She grabbed for the handle and turned it, only to be met with the sound of a creaking pipe, but no water. Finn could see her disappointment, and felt his own disappointment for he needed a shower now more than ever feeling the mud beginning to dry on his skin, but he wasn't surprised. 

"Come see what I found," he said wanting to distract her. He turned away from the locker room and headed back to the main Gym. She followed beside him and he gestured toward the door which she opened gasping in excitement upon seeing the cots and possible other supplies. They looked around the main Gym for several minutes, checking to make sure they weren't anymore side rooms, before moving over to the boxes. 

Against a far wall sat an old generator, which immediately drew Raven's attention. She tried to start it without luck and reached into her pack for some tools that might fix it. 

Finn watched her with amusement for a few seconds before he decided to call the others. Picking up the radio, he reported, "Clarke, Bellamy, Monty and Jasper - Raven and I found a shelter with cots and supplies. We should be able to hole up here for the night."

Static meet his announcement and Raven shifted nervously waiting for a response, but none came. "Guys - can you hear us?" Finn asked again.

The were met with white noise. "Maybe the signal is being blocked by this building," Raven hypothesized.

"Maybe," Finn turned some of the dials on the radio before saying, "Stay here and see if you can get the generator working. I'll go see if I can find Clarke and Bellamy."

Finn headed out the door and followed the wall around the other side of the building opposite from the direction they had come earlier. "Clarke -- Bellamy -- Can anyone hear me?"

This time a murmured response met his question, but there was too much static to determine who it was or what they said. Realizing that the building must be blocking the signal, he slowly walked away from the wall, holding the radio up hoping to enhance the signal. "Clarke --" he called.

"Finn -- where are you?" he heard her say just as he neared the second building and tripped over some item thrown in the grass. He landed hard on the ground, the air expelled from his body and the radio thrown out in front of him. He took a few deep breaths, feeling stupid that he had tripped like that, and hear Clarke say again, "Finn are you okay?"

He went to grab from the radio, when he noticed the metal object near his right hand slightly buried in the dirt; It was a landmine. He froze in place as he looked out over the area and could see other slightly raised spots in the field. He was surrounded.


	12. Discovered?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I developed new characters for this chapter - Eileen, unnamed Ark Survivors, unnamed Mountain Men, and unnamed Grounders

"Finn -- Are you okay? Please answer me!" Finn heard Clarke cry through the radio, driving him into action even though he lay in what might possibly be a minefield. The fact that he hadn't been blown up when he fell reassured him that he could at least push himself up to survey the area around him. Classes on the Ark had semi-prepared him for this situation as everyone had been taught how to spot mines and clear a pathway if it was an emergency. Of course that was in theory, and as of yet, he hadn't had to put what he'd learned into action.

"We're headed in your direction Finn," he heard Clarke say. 

"Shit," he whispered in worry, before looking out toward the fence which he'd jumped earlier with Raven. It seemed obvious now that they had been lucky to not hit any landmines as he could see several places where the ground was slightly raised and a few others that showed earth blown up and a few scattered bones. It explained why the place was untouched, he thought. 

He needed to get to the radio to warn Clarke and Bellamy to not jump the fence and run to his rescue. He pulled his knife from his waistband and holding it at an angle, probed the ground to the left side of him with slow and steady movements. The mine that had alerted him to his present situation was to the right and slightly in front of him so his plan was to move left toward the vehicles and then move up parallel to the radio before moving toward it. He hoped that whoever had placed the mines had left an area around the vehicles clear.

"Bellamy -- Clarke -- What is going on?" Finn heard Jasper ask in the silence. 

"Are Raven and Finn okay?" this time from Monty. 

Instead of Clarke responding, he heard Bellamy explain to the others about the town and the decision for the four of them to split up. Finn tuned them out working methodically to clear the area to his side and hopefully find a way to the radio. Sweat was beading on his forehead, but he ignored it as he slowly belly crawled along. When he was close to the vehicle, he pushed himself up into a crouch to look around again; The radio was near the front of the vehicle and maybe ten feet over. 

He walked to the front of the vehicle and resumed his belly crawl toward the radio slowly probing for mines in front of him. He reached it in a few minutes, grabbing it as he called out, "I'm here; I'm fine."

"What!" he heard Clarke respond a heartbeat later, "Why did it take you so long to respond?"

"Raven and I found a school that had been turned into an emergency shelter. It is still in good shape and there are lots of supplies, but it also appears to be surrounded by a minefield."

"How do you know there are supplies inside if it is surrounded by a minefield," Bellamy asked. 

"Because we didn't know there were any mines around it until we were inside," Finn confessed.

"Jesus Finn -- you could have both been killed," Bellamy scolded. 

"I realize that now, but at the time it seemed safe. It will be a good place to hole up for the night if we can find a path back to the fence."

"The school is surrounded by a fence?" he heard Clarke ask. "I think I see it ahead." 

Finn pushed into standing position to look over at the place where he had entered earlier and sure enough, just a few moments later, Clarke and Bellamy came running into view and over to the fence. 

"Why are you just standing there?" Clarke asked in confusion looking at him from across the field. They still needed to use the radio to communicate clearly as there was some distance between the fence and the buildings.

"I found out about the landmines when I stumbled into them," Finn stammered in embarrassment.

Finn thought he could see the look of horror that came over Clarke's face at his pronouncement and when she realized that he was trapped in the middle, she threw herself toward the fence and began to climb. He shouted, "Clarke -- no."

Bellamy grabbed Clarke's jacket to stop her upon hearing Finn's warning and when Finn saw Bellamy look his way he continued, "I'll find a way out of this and then Raven and I will create a path for the rest of you to get in. Right now the two of you need to go get the boar we brought down and find the others before it gets too dark."

"No, we'll come in and help you find a way out and then go get the others. We'll do it together," Clarke insisted.

Shaking his head no, he implored, "Bellamy, you know this is the best option. We are out of our known territory and we have no idea what we might encounter out here. There is no time to argue about this."

There was a noticeable pause as Bellamy first looked over at Finn, then down at Clarke. She was in her usual no argument stance when he heard Bellamy affirm, "He is right. They can take care of themselves and we need to find the others."

Finn watched Clarke narrow her eyes in anger, but then close them with the realization that both of them were right. Even in the few minutes that they had been talking, it had gotten darker and they would be lucky to accomplish finding the others and returning with the food before it was completely dark. He saw Clarke turn back toward him, her eyes boring into his as she said over the radio, "Promise me you'll be careful."

"I will. Raven and I will find a way back out to you."

"Hurry," she whispered.

"You too," he responded with a smile. Even from the distance, he could see her grab the fence a little tighter before letting go and brushing past Bellamy to return the way they had arrived a few minutes ago. 

Once the two were out of sight, Finn walked carefully back to the vehicle making sure to follow in the marks he'd made as he'd belly crawled along to the radio. He then followed along the vehicle and took the shortest route over to the wall of the building all without incident. Once he hit the side of the building he jogged back to the door to search for Raven. 

The gym had gotten dark, but the light from inside alerted him to her location. She was still working on the rusted generator and there were a variety of parts strewn around her along with two lanterns. A smudge of dirt marred her cheek as she looked over at him with frustration. "No luck?" he guessed.

She shook her head and went back to looking at the guts of the machine.

Fixing machines with her hands was truly Raven's passion and Finn hated to disturb her, but knew he had no choice. "We have a problem."

"We do," she responded without looking over at him.

"I think these buildings might be surrounded by landmines." That got her attention as her head swung his way and a look of surprise furrowed her brow. 

"Impossible," she disputed saying, "We couldn't have made it over to these building if there were landmines out there."

"We must have gotten lucky. Come see for yourself and bring the lantern." Raven followed him out of the building and he cautioned her to follow in his tracks as he led her out to the mine he'd found earlier. 

She crouched down to look further and then up at him. "What do we do?" he asked.

"If they planted mines, they must have a minesweeper. Let's search the vehicles and then the building."

"What would it look like?"

"A long metal rod with a round bowl shape on the bottom," Raven described.

The each took a rusted out vehicle to look through. It was messy work as the vehicles were overgrown with brush and covered in dirt with a lot of the metal rusted through. Finn could tell where bags had been stored inside the back of the vehicle he was looking through, although all that was left were some straps, weapons, and bullets. He shifted through the remains until he had covered ever inch and then he headed to the next one to start the process again. Just when he thought he'd come up short, his hand curled around a pole and when he pulled it out, it looked exactly as Raven had described. "I think I found it," he called out to her.

Walking as quickly as he could, he handed the item over to Raven and watched as she fiddled with it and scowled when nothing happened, "It's dead."

"Can you fix it?"

"I hope so." She stepped over to the closest vehicle to use the remains as a makeshift workbench. She inspected the electronic components before finally saying, "I'm going to need the radio."

Finn handed it to her and watched nervously as she took first the radio and then the device apart. He could only watch helplessly as the sky to the East got a little darker.

Then in the empty silence, he heard first a hum and then a beep. Raven looked over at him with a beam in her eye, "We're in business."

. . .

"You still care about him?" Clarke heard Bellamy ask her from behind with some bewilderment. 

"Of course," she replied without a beat, continuing to walk quickly back to where they had first entered the town.

"He has a girlfriend," was Bellamy's retort.

"Had a girlfriend."

"Had a girlfriend when he was getting close to you," Bellamy shot back.

"A girlfriend he wasn't sure he'd ever see again after the trackers were all destroyed, no thanks to you, and he learned that everyone on the Ark was going to die in a few short weeks. At the time, it seemed like we were quite alone."

"I see," Bellamy tsked, "You don't consider what he did to be cheating on his girlfriend."

This time Clarke stopped in her tracks, shocked that he was bringing this up, and pivoted around to look at him. "I don't consider it cheating when you think you'll never see someone again and you have no way to break up with them if you've begun to having feelings for someone else. We were stranded on Earth and any relationship with someone on the Ark was over."

"He could have given it more time?" Bellamy countered.

"Like you took your time before hooking up with others?" Clarke replied in a super sweet voice.

Bellamy raised his brow in question before he smiled slightly seeming to concede to her point. She turned to resume her trek when she heard him ponder aloud, "You care about him, you don't think he cheated, and he obviously cares about you, yet the two of you aren't together."

"It's complicated," Clarke replied in exasperation wishing he'd let the subject drop.

"Was it because he went back to Raven when she returned?"

Looking over her shoulder, she shot him a look saying, "No -- leave it be."

"Not ready to settle down with one guy?" he questioned further.

This time she didn't bother to respond just walked a little faster. 

"Then what? Why are you angry at him Princess? Hasn't he proven himself loyal? He saved your life."

She stopped, going rigid at his taunt, before spinning to glare at him, "He didn't tell me about her. I would have understood and probably been with him anyway, but he kept it from me and now I don't trust him."

Surprise was written on Bellamy's face and so she continued, "All my life, the people that I cared about have kept things from me -- important things. Not anymore. I won't have it in my life; I can't have it my life," she ended in a shout.

"He probably didn't know how to tell you. It wouldn't be an easy subject to bring up," Bellamy guessed.

Clarke dropped her arms in frustration, "I know, but I can't get past it. My parents kept so many things from me and Wells kept things from me. I don't think I can be with someone who isn't completely honest with me."

"Yet you weren't honest with him."

"Excuse me."

"The night you were supposed to meet Anya on the bridge. You didn't tell Finn that you had asked a few of us to back you up."

"That was different. That was for all of our safety. Finn's omission was personal; It was between us."

"Trust is built over time and the two of you haven't know each other long."

"Now you defend him," Clarke said with some disbelief. "Just a few minutes ago, you were in shock that I still cared for him."

Bellamy looked away, "I think we all did things when we first got here that we wish we'd done differently." He paused before looking back at her and saying, "I know how hard it is to explain something that might change the way someone you care about sees you."

The two of them stood for a few seconds staring at each other and Clarke sensed that he was no longer talking about Finn. Before she could delve deeper into his words, they heard Jasper shout; the others had found them.

. . .

Finn stood staring at the campfire that they had used to roast some of the boar for dinner, letting the dancing light take him back to the events of the day. It was hard to believe how smoothly things had went once Raven had gotten the minesweeper working. They had cleared a path to the fence, and while they waited for the others to return, Raven had spotted an old water pump which with some muscle they had gotten to work. Bellamy and Clarke then returned with the others and it wasn't long until they were settled in with the boar meat roasting. There was then enough time for each of them to wash up in the locker room, change into fresh clothes, and wash the ones that they had worn for the past few days. 

"Good night," he heard Monty's mom Eileen say to the group. He looked over his shoulder to see that not only was Eileen heading inside, but so was Fox. He waved and then looked around to see if others would follow, but everyone else only murmured a good night and fell back into an easy silence.

"Sit down Finn," he heard Bellamy command moments later. "You don't need to patrol the perimeter tonight."

"Do what?" Raven asked.

Finn sent a pointed look to Bellamy compelling him not to say anything more, but Bellamy ignored it explaining, "Ever since the Grounder attack, Finn has taken it upon himself to patrol the area around our camp both day and night."

"Are you spying on me?" Finn asked in disbelief.

"No," Bellamy said with a laugh, "Just keeping track of you since I know the ladies would be disappointed if you disappeared." Finn noticed Clarke blush and Raven cough on the drink she had taken just prior to Bellamy's retort.

Finn flashed Bellamy the bird before sitting down to try and act relaxed, not wanted to cause either woman more concern. He had been trying to keep his nocturnal activities secret from them, but had guessed that Clarke knew what he was doing. 

"If only we had found this place sooner," Bellamy said with a sigh.

"You think things would have been different?" Raven asked with surprise.

"I think we would have had something to build on."

Bellamy's comment seemed to give everyone pause wondering what might have been. Could they had made a home here?

Seeing Bellamy stand and begin to pace before the fire, it became clear that he had something more to say, but was reluctant to do so. 

"I know you'll think I'm crazy for suggesting this, but maybe we should just strike out on our own. Not look for the others and instead find a new place to call home. I think the eight of us would do pretty well on our own."

"What?" Clarke gasped in surprise.

"You saw what happened when we found the other Ark survivors. There is no way they will see us as equals and I doubt they will allow us to maintain the freedom we've established here."

"We'll find a way Bellamy," Clarke reassured him.

"That is easy for you to say Princess. Your position is assured, but most of the rest of us are little more than low class."

"We've proven that we are leaders; That we have what it takes to survive here."

"We were guinea pigs; Nothing more," Bellamy spat. "Otherwise they would have involved us in the exploration instead of tagging us and then observing from above."

Finn watched as Clarke stood and walked over to Bellamy. Seeing them standing close together, Finn knew that Clarke and Bellamy didn't have any sort of intimate relationship, but something clearly existed between them and it was strong. He felt jealousy stir within him as he watched Clarke try to coax Bellamy out of his plan, "Bellamy -- those survivors are our families." 

"Not mine," he sneered and Finn could sense Bellamy's pain.

"You're right. Most of your family is right here," Clarke corrected pointing to all of them, "And we need your help."

Bellamy's looked at her in confusion and then at the others. Finn hadn't thought about it until now, but in the last few weeks the six of them had gotten as close as any family could. When Bellamy looked over at him, he nodded once in agreement with Clarke.

Everyone waited for Bellamy's response as he surveyed the group of them with a bemused expression. "Of course we'll continue searching for them, but we better get some sleep as we need to head out by first light." and with that he left all of them and went inside.

Clarke gestured for the rest of them to also take off to bed. Finn waited for everyone to move inside before stomping out the fire. He went into the Gym and over to one of the cots that he'd picked earlier, which was next to Clarke's, and got settled in. 

Soon heavy breathing could be heard from some of the others, but no matter how hard Finn tried he couldn't sleep. It was actually why he patrolled the camp at night. All he could see when he closed his eyes were images from that night: Clarke's horror upon realizing what she must do, Raven bleeding internally on the floor of the dropship, and Bellamy in the fight of his life. Instead, he decided to look at Clarke across from him and try to remember good times. 

"Stop staring at me," Finn startled at Clarke's whisper as he watched her eyes flutter open and a smile grace her lips. 

"Sorry - I didn't mean to stare," Finn paused with an in-drawn breath before saying, "I keep thinking this is all a dream and I'll wake up to find myself outside the gates of our destroyed camp and everyone still missing."

Clarke's face grew serious as she replied, "I understand. I wake up each morning and for a few moments think I'm back in that white room."

Finn could imagine what she'd been through having learned more about it the night they had been at the hot spring. 

"The flower you left me on my pillow that first morning almost made my heart stop since all I could see for a few seconds was white," she related with a laugh. Not realizing that he'd caused her a fright, he open his mouth to apologize when she interjected, "Of course, the red one this morning was beautiful." 

Finn smiled at the memory of sneaking into her tent this morning to once again place a flower on her pillow. The one the first day had been an impulse, but when she had brought the flower over to breathe in it's fragrance and he'd seen the look of joy flash across her face, he couldn't resist trying to achieve the same thing everyday.

"Do you have another one for tomorrow?" 

Finn couldn't hide his smile, but he had no plans to answer her. 

"Are you trying to woe me?"

"Is it working?"

"Go to sleep Finn," Clarke responded as she rolled away from him, but not before he saw her happy smile. 

"You'll see that I learn from my mistakes," he whispered before closing his eyes. 

. . .

Clarke's eyes slowly blinked open to find the cot next to hers empty and no flower on her pillow. She felt a moment of sadness thinking he'd stopped with the gifts until she saw a small stock of bluebells laying next to her hand. She couldn't help but bring them to her nose for a quick moment to revel in their scent before tucking them into the pocket of her jacket which contained the other two gifts. 

She sat up slowly and looked around finding Bellamy and Finn whispering at one of the tables against the wall. When she stood, they both looked her way, and she headed over to see what they were discussing. On the table before them lay a new map of the area which contained additional geography to the west and north of their position.

"We'll break into groups of two again and span out west. If by the end of the day tomorrow, we haven't found them, we may need to backtrack and try North then South. I don't think they could have crashed more than two days out since some of us saw the Ark crash," Bellamy explained.

"Are you sure you are okay with this?" Clarke couldn't help, but ask especially after Bellamy's proposal last night.

"I shouldn't have made that suggestion. We survive by banding together."

Clarke couldn't help but notice his unease and wished she could assure him that things would be the same. She wanted to remind him again that they were a family and would stick together. Instead she curled her lips in a smile and began to pepper both men with questions. 

It wasn't long until they had split up into new small groups: Finn with Jasper, Bellamy with Fox, Monty and his mom again, and herself with Raven. They jumped the fence just as the sun was peeking over the horizon and Clarke took once last look at the place that they might have been able to call home.

The morning had moved along quickly with Clarke and Raven spending some of the time talking about mundane things and growing closer in their friendship. But by lunchtime, both of them had fallen into silence, until Clarke heard Raven call out to her. She rushed over and found Raven inspecting some metal that seemed to have been recently torn for a larger object. Could this be remains of the Ark? 

Raven looked up at her with hopeful eyes and then stood and began to look around for more debris. "Over there," Raven pointed just seconds later. 

They both took off in a trot over to the next piece of wreakage and then to the next; It was almost like a trail. Both girls were trying their best to move quickly, but quietly, when they heard voices from up ahead. Clarke slowed, holding her hand up to signal to Raven that she had found something.

They peeked through the brush and the site before them was a welcome one. Many Ark survivors were gathered around a campsite next to a large lake. The remains of the Ark stood in the background casting a large shadow over the area. There were several hundred people and although many sported bandages, they were up and moving. 

It was then that Jackson walked by carrying some supplies, "Jackson," Clarke called as she rushed from the trees unable to stop herself.

"Clarke?" he responded in surprise dropping the items in his hands. He reached out to grab her, and although she didn't know him that well, she welcomed his hug. 

"My mom?" was all she could say as she pulled away and noticed the others headed in their direction. Raven had followed her out of the woods and was standing beside her.

"She isn't with you?" Jackson questioned looking behind Clarke.

"No, why would she be?"

"Your mom, Kane, and some other guards headed out to the dropship over four days ago. They didn't find you?"

"No," Clarke said in confusion. "We found some other Ark Survivors, but we never saw my mom."

Silence hung around the group as everyone wondered what might have happened to the search party. Clarke was trying not to think the worse when she heard Raven talking to the others over the radio.

Seeing everyone's puzzlement, Clarke explained, "There are six others who are out searching for all of you, while the rest of our group headed East to the coast. We've had to leave our original settlement because it was no longer safe." 

"No longer safe?" she heard someone question.

"There are at least three surviving group of people down here and we've had run-ins with two of them. We're hoping the third group will be more welcoming and that is where the others are headed."

"There wasn't a way to bridge the divide between you and those down here?" she heard a man shout. 

His choice of words made her blanch remembering the incident with Anya on the bridge, but she answered, "The first group we encountered, which we call the Grounders, were very warlike, and without knowing it, we made too many mistakes that couldn't be undone. The second group had spent most of their time underground and were wary of those above ground. They kidnapped us and planned to use us in their experiments on their quest for survival. They seemed beyond reason."

Clarke could hear the mutters all around her, but her mind was still trying to process where her mother might be. Jackson must have sensed her shock and realized that other questions could wait for later, as he called out to everyone asking them to give her space before taking her over to a makeshift bench near the wreckage. He handed her some water, which she accepted with gratitude.

It wasn't long until Jasper and Finn arrived followed by Monty and his mom. Cheers of joy could be heard when Jasper's parents saw him and the three ran together for a tight embrace. Eileen was greeted by other friends as was Monty which was when Clarke noticed the Finn didn't look around for anyone and wondered about his family situation. Finn walked over to them and Jackson looked at him in question. 

"Jackson, this is Finn." Clarke introduced turning to Jackson and then returning the introduction for Finn. Finn stretched his hand out to shake, which Jackson returned, although with a strange look in his eye. 

"Your mom?" Finn asked as he turned in her direction.

"Not here. She went out looking for our camp, but they must have went in the wrong direction. Did you see anything?"

Shaking his head, he looked down at her before reaching out to rub her shoulder in support, "We'll find her."

Raven and Finn fell into quiet conversation while Jackson headed off to find some food. Clarke could only stare at her lap and wonder if fate had once again tricked her by stealing her mother from her arms once more.

"Maybe we should radio Bellamy again?" Finn remarked to Raven startling Clarke from her thoughts as she realized that Bellamy had yet to join them. 

Picking up the radio, Raven called out to Bellamy only to be greeted by a voice that came from behind them, "Aren't you two the good trackers?"

Raven smiled at his mock compliment before commenting, "They actually were easy to find leaving a trail of burnt metal remains." 

"I saw that. Making the matter worse, they didn't construct any defenses," Bellamy pointed out. 

"I don't think they planned to be here long," Clarke interjected having stood to join their circle. "My mom and some others went in search of our camp, but that was four days ago."

"Could they had reached it while we were rescuing you from Mount Weather? Perhaps they ended up following our trail to Mount Weather which was not the same one we took to return," Bellamy wondered.

"I hope not. Although the people in Mount Weather had no plans to gather up the survivors at that time, things might have changed because of our breakout," Finn concluded.

"Well I think we should pack everyone up and see if we can find my mom's trail. It doesn't make sense to leave everyone here without any defenses and once we find my mom we can just head to the coast."

"But if Abby and Kane return?" Raven asked.

"We'll leave a note with a map. That is the best we can do at this point." Bellamy offered.

Clarke nodded her head sadly in agreement. When Jackson joined them, she explained the plan and then the five of them began to gather the others instructing them to pack up necessities and get ready to move out. Although many people seemed reluctant to leave, in the end everyone did as instructed. 

Just as Clarke was finishing putting additional supplies in her pack, she heard movement in the trees to the East as well as a cry of pain. Before she could move forward to take a closer look, her mom came stumbling into camp, her arms tied behind her back, followed closely by the other Ark Survivors. Clarke dropped her pack and was about to rush forward when she felt a hand grasp her arm and move her to the side. It was Finn and the look on his face was enough to stop her cold, especially when she noticed that he held his crossbow at the ready. 

Looking toward where his eyes were trained, she saw a row of horses carrying Grounder warriors led once again by a woman, but this time one that was much older. Her midnight black hair was frosted white and a large scar marred her right cheek, but did nothing to hide the evil within her eyes. She sat proudly upon her horse as she cried out to their group, "Where is Clarke Griffin?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking time to read my work. It has been a fun few months of writing my own version of what happens next. The show is back tonight so I won't be posting any more chapters to this post. I often write One-Shots during the season on Tumblr. You can follow me on Tumblr if interested: http://fanficclarkefinn.tumblr.com/


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